Something of a break came for Penkovsky, at last, in September 1958. He was assigned to a course of the General Staff for the study of new technology. It was a high-grade, nine-month course at the Dzerzhinsky Military Artillery Engineering Academy, which specialised in rocket artillery. The students were trained in the use of rocket propelled weapons. Some were trained specifically as engineers to service the rockets on their testing pads prior to launching.
His initial disappointment on being assigned to a course rather than to active duty soon evaporated when he realised that this was the perfect opportunity to acquire up-to-date intelligence about Soviet weaponry to pass to the West.
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The deteriorating reputation of the KGB as a highly visible and unforgiving force did not sit comfortably with Khrushchev’s desire to portray a friendlier and more accommodating image of the Soviet Union to the outside world. The manner in which Serov had taken the Hungarian situation by the scruff of the neck and meted out the strongest possible retributions had damaged the Soviet Union’s global standing. It would not be possible to change the KGB’s image while Serov remained its chairman.
First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan suggested to Khrushchev that Serov should go. At first Khrushchev rejected the idea, both out of loyalty towards Serov for his support over the years, and because there was no obvious vacancy for him to fill.
At the same time, Khrushchev was preoccupied with the career of Georgy Zhukov who had supported him in the 1957 attempted coup. He had sacked him as Defence Minister just a few months later due to serious policy differences, and Khrushchev now feared Zhukov might lead an attempt to oust him. Sergei Shtemenko, the chief executive of the GRU, was a close associate of Zhukov. In December 1958, Khrushchev decided to remove Shtemenko – thus weakening Zhukov’s position – and appoint Serov as his replacement.