Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Andrei Alyakseyevich Ravkov (, born on 25 June 1967 in Revyaki, Vitebsk Region) is a Belarusian General and military leader who last served as the State Secretary of the

Security Council of Belarus The Security Council of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian language, Belarusian: Савет бяспекі Рэспублікі Беларусь, Russian language, Russian: Совет безопасности Республики Беларус� ...

in 2020.

Early life and career

In 1984, he graduated from

Minsk Suvorov Military School The Minsk Suvorov Military School (MnSVU) is one of the Suvorov Military Schools in Belarus and in other former Soviet Republics for military cadets. The MnSVU is a state specialised educational institution that focuses on military subjects an ...

. In 1988, he graduated with honors from the Moscow Higher Military Command School. He worked his way from the commander of the platoon to commander of the battalion. In 1999, he graduated with a gold medal from the Command and Staff Department of the Military Academy of Belarus. In 2005, he graduated with honours from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and was appointed commander of the 103rd Separate Guards Mobile Brigade. From 2006 to 2012 he served as Chief of the Operations Department and concurrently as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Western Operational Command. On 16 November 2012, he became Commander of the

North Western Operational Command North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

. That year, he was elected to the Minsk regional council of deputies from Borisov. By order of President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

on 24 November 2014, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Defence.

Activities as Minister of Defense

In the run-up to the 2015 Minsk Victory Day Parade, Ravkov ordered the changing of the open top inspection vehicle used on

Victors Avenue Victors Avenue (, ) is a public avenue in Minsk, Belarus. History Until 1980, it was called the Park Highway. For a long time, the northwest center of Minsk along the right bank of the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach tributary of the river Berezin ...

from the traditional ZIL-41044 to the

Hongqi L5 The Hongqi Guoli (), formerly known as the Hongqi L5, is a large neo-retro full-size luxury sedan produced by Chinese automobile manufacturer Hongqi, a subsidiary of FAW Group since 2014, whose design was inspired by the discontinued Hongqi ...

, which is an official state car in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In 2017, after the death of a conscript soldier Alexander Korzhich due to repeated

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

, he reaffirmed his support in the conscription system while conceding that it needed changes due to the lack of recruits. In late September 2017, Ravkov presided over the Zapad 2017 exercise with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He announced in November 2018 that the national defence plan for 2019 will be adjusted to come in line with the most recent military doctrine. In June 2019, he announced the entry of a bill in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, the largest of its provisions being a mechanism that institutes mandatory military service. In the substantiation of the law's draft, authored by Ravkov, the need to for this is justified by the fact that the chairmen of local executive authorities and their deputies head their own territorial defense zones. On 28 June 2019, the House of Representatives passed this bill in second reading. After the law enters into force, eligible graduates of higher educational institutions such as Belarusian State University are required to engage in military service immediately and will not be able to continue their postgraduate studies. He was dismissed in January 2020, succeeding Stanislav Zas as Secretary of the

Security Council chief

He was dismissed on 3 September 2020, being succeeded by the Chairman of the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

, Valery Vakulchik.

Post-military

On 19 November, he was appointed as the Ambassador to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. On 16 February 2021, he presented his credentials to President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

International sanctions

In August 2020, Ravkov was put under sanctions by

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

over his role in suppressing the 2020 Belarusian protests. On 6 November 2020, he was sanctioned by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. On 24 November,

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

aligned themselves with the November EU sanctions against 15 Belarusian individuals, while

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

did the same on 11 December.

Dates of rank

References

External links

Defense Ministry's official biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravkov, Andrei 1967 births People from Beshankovichy district Belarusian generals Defence ministers of Belarus Government of Belarus Living people Minsk Suvorov Military School alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Ambassadors of Belarus to Azerbaijan Military Academy of Belarus alumni