Andrei Nikolayevich Troshev (, ; born April 5, 1962), nicknamed Sedoi ( rus, Седой, p=sʲɪˈdoi, t=the Grey-Haired), is a Russian retired

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, former agent for the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

, and a veteran of the Soviet-Afghan War, the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

, and the

Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the war against the Islamic State , image = , image_size = , border ...

. He was awarded the

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

, the highest honorary title in Russia, for his service. On July 14, 2023,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

announced that he wanted Troshev to replace

Yevgeny Prigozhin Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin (1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a ...

as the leader of the

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

following Prigozhin's brief rebellion the previous month. On September 29, 2023, he was tasked by Vladimir Putin to oversee volunteer units in Ukraine after a meeting.

Biography

He was born April 5, 1962, in Leningrad (now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

). After graduating high school, he attended the Leningrad Higher Artillery Command School, named after Red October. After graduating, he served in various artillery units in command and officer positions. He fought in the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops. He commanded a battery of

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

. For showing courage and heroism in the line of duty, he was awarded two Orders of the Red Star. He later graduated from the Military Artillery Academy named after M. I. Kalinin (now

Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy () is a Russian military academy conducting warrant officer programmes, commissioned officer programmes (specialitet), advance training career commissioned officer programmes (magistratura), and adju ...

). After the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

continued to serve in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

. He participated in the

, for military merit he was awarded two Order of Courage awards and a

Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a Russian medal. It was established on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree No.442. Its award criteria were modified on 6 January 1999 by Presidential Decree 19 and again on 7 September 201 ...

of the Second Degree. He subsequently served in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

units. After leaving the reserve, he continued to serve in the authorities of the

. He worked in the ОМОN and SОBR units of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the

Northwestern Federal District Northwestern Federal District ( rus, Северо-Западный федеральный округ, p=ˌsʲevʲɪrə ˈzapədnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal districts of Russia. It ...

. For some time he commanded the Saint Petersburg SOBR unit. He was dismissed from the Main Directorate under unfortunate circumstances, namely for drinking alcohol. He is also a graduate of the . In 2012 he ended his service with the rank of colonel. At the beginning of the

Russian military intervention in Syria {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the war against the Islamic State , image = , image_size = , border = , caption = Various mi ...

, Troshev, who at this time was already retired, went to Syria. He was not directly involved in the hostilities, instead managing the logistic service of

and the Security Service of Wagner Group in

Molkin Molkin () is a rural locality (a (''khutor'') under the administrative jurisdiction of the Town of Goryachy Klyuch of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Population: "Molkino" military range To the west of the village there is a military training ground ...

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

. According to the online publication, he is an unstable person, has an addiction to alcohol, and is connected to the deaths of several dozen (according to some publications, hundreds) of Wagner soldiers in

February 2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of Sou ...

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

. This was categorically denied in a variety of sources. Despite the large number of deaths in the SAR operations, by a closed Decree of Putin, Troshev was awarded the title of

. According to some media sources, Troshev was taken to a hospital while intoxicated and mentally unstable, while having maps of Syria, money and other important documents with him. According to unverified information, after returning to Russia, he worked for

, as the Chief of Staff, and also lead the Security Service of Wagner in

. Some publications considered him the leader of the entire company, but this is not confirmed information. Currently, he is engaged in social causes. He is the chairman of the St. Petersburg organization "League for Protecting the Interests of Veterans of Local Wars and Military Conflicts." He also coordinates some operations related to Wagner, under the leadership of Evgeny Gulyaev. He also participates in commemorative events, including those dedicated to the anniversaries of the end of the

Afghan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in t ...

. After Wagner's mutiny and Yevgeny Prigozhin's death, Vladimir Putin said that the group could continue operating and signing contracts with the

Russian Defense Ministry The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (; MOD) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The President of Russia is the Commander-in-Chief of the forces and directs the activity of the ministry. The Minister of Defence exerci ...

under Troshev.

International sanctions

On June 29, 2022, Troshev was included in the UK sanctions list as one of the leaders of

, which participated in the Syrian Civil War on the side of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

and government forces. On December 13, 2021, he was included in the sanctions lists of all EU countries:

The chief of staff of the Wagner group, which operates in Syria, trains and directs Syrian forces. The Wagner Group also supports the Assad regime and fights alongside regime-linked militias and the Syrian army. Andrey Troshev is directly involved in the military operations of the Wagner Group in Syria. In particular, he was involved in the
Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...
area. Thus, he makes a decisive contribution to Bashar al-Assad's military actions and supports and benefits from the Syrian regime. — ''
Official Journal of the European Union The ''Official Journal of the European Union'' (the ''OJEU'') is the official gazette of record for the European Union (EU). It is published every working day in all of the official languages of the member states of the EU. Only legal acts p ...
'',
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, December 13, 2021

References

External links

«Вагнер» доигрался. Наемникам запретили брать кредиты и посещать Европу: кто эти люди?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troshev, Andrei People of the Wagner Group Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration alumni Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war People of the Soviet–Afghan War Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Heroes of the Russian Federation Living people 1962 births Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia)