Leonid Khabarov

Leonid Khabarov (Russian: Леони́д Васи́льевич Хаба́ров, IPA: [lʲɪɐˈnʲit xɐˈbarəf]; born May 8, 1947) is a former Soviet military officer whose battalion was the first Soviet Army unit to cross the border into the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan on December 25, 1979, serving as the de facto beginning of the decade-long Soviet–Afghan War. He received widespread media attention after he was arrested on charges of fomenting a coup d'état while serving as a Russian ROTC chief in 2011. He was accused of having created a master plot to overthrow local authorities in the Ural region of Russia for the purpose of launching a nationwide rebellion.

The indictment accused Khabarov of attempting to illegally purchase weapons. Trial sessions were routinely rescheduled, but on 26 February 2013 the Sverdlovsk Regional Court sentenced Khabarov to 4+1⁄2 years in prison, despite nationwide protest. Khabarov appealed to the Supreme Court of Russia, but his case was rejected. On 2 July 2014 he was released on parole.