Sergei Stepashin is one of the politicians of the new, post-Gorbachev generation. Like many of them he has held many key positions in the power structure: director of the FSB (Federal Security Service), minister of jurisprudence, prime minister, and now chairman of the supreme state control chamber (Schetnaia Palata). To get the idea of his current power it is enough to say that there are several ministers about to lose their jobs because of an investigation started by Stepashin. This is his first political biography.