Major General Alexander Vladimirovich Shishlyannikov (; 3 November 1950 – 15 September 2023) was a Tajik military officer and the first Minister of Defence of Tajikistan, serving from 1993 to 1995. He was an ethnic Russian.

Biography

Soviet Army

Alexander Shishlyannikov was born on 3 November 1950 in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, the capital of the

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

. In 1971, he graduated from the

Tashkent Higher Tank Command School Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. It is located in northeastern Uzbekistan, nea ...

Chirchik Chirchiq, also spelled as Chirchik, (; ) is a district-level city in Tashkent Region, Uzbekistan. It is about 32 km northeast of Tashkent, along the river Chirchiq. Chirchiq lies in the Chatkal Mountains. The population of Chirchiq as of 20 ...

, and 10 years later, he graduated from the

Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy The Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy (Военная академия бронетанковых войск имени Маршала Советского Союза Р. Я. Малиновского) was one of the Soviet military academ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In the 1980s, Shishlyannikov served in the Central and

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (, ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 R ...

(based in the Kazakh and Uzbek capitals of

Alma-Ata Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border wi ...

and

respectively), as well as the

Western Group of Forces The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. During this time, he was deployed with the Soviet 40th Army to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in the early stages of the Soviet-Afghan War. By the time of the

fall 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 Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

and the creation of independent nations, he was serving as an officer in the Uzbek defense ministry.

Tajikistan

In January 1993, Colonel Shishlyannikov was appointed the first defense minister of Tajikistan. He was among 200 officers brought from

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

on the orders of

Emomali Rahmon Emomali Rahmon ( ; born 5 October 1952), born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmanov, is a Tajik politician who has served as the President of Tajikistan since 1994, having previously led the country as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Tajikistan), Su ...

. One month later on 23 February Shishlyannikov led the celebrations in honor of the founding of the Tajik Armed Forces. During his tenure, it was expected that he would be temporary and would eventually be replaced by Colonel Ramazon Radjabov, his deputy who was in favor with many elite circles. Shishlyannikov played a key role in the early stages of the

Tajik Civil War The Tajikistani Civil War,, group=pron also known as the Tajik Civil War, began in May 1992 and ended in June 1997. Regional groups from the Garm, Tajikistan, Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan rose up against the newly formed gover ...

. In July of that year, he hosted visiting Russian defence minister

Pavel Grachev Pavel Sergeyevich Grachev (; 1 January 1948 – 23 September 2012), sometimes transliterated as Grachov or Grachyov, was a Russian Army General and the Defence Minister of the Russian Federation from 1992 to 1996; in 1988 he was awarded Hero ...

, where he criticized the position of "individual leaders of the CIS countries" for the proposals of the CIS Joint Armed Forces Command to bring peacekeeping forces into the republic being unfulfilled. He was relieved of his post on 7 April 1995, being succeeded by

Sherali Khayrulloyev Sherali Khayrulloyevich Khayrulloyev (; ; born 8 November 1949) is a retired Tajikistani general and politician. He was the Minister of Defense of Tajikistan from 1995 to 2013. Early life He was born in November 1949 in the village of Hamadon ...

Death

Alexander Shishlyannikov died on 15 September 2023, at the age of 72, in

, Uzbekistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shishlyannikov, Alexander 1950 births 2023 deaths Soviet colonels Ministers of defence of Tajikistan Military personnel from Tashkent Politicians from Tashkent Tashkent Higher Tank Command School alumni Tajikistani people of Russian descent Uzbekistani people of Russian descent