Pavel Anatolyevich Popov (; born 1 January 1957) is a retired Russian army officer who was the Deputy

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

between 7 November 2013 and 17 June 2024. He holds the rank of General of the Reserve Army. Popov had previously been the Head of the Civil Protection Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situations from 2004 to 2008, and the Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations from 2008 to 2013.

Biography

Pavel Popov was born on 1 January 1957 in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

. He is an ethnic Russian. In 1978, he graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School, after which he served in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany 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 ...

of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. In 1986, he was transferred to the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

as commander of a motorized rifle battalion. After graduating from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

in 1990, Popov served as chief of staff - a deputy commander of the civil defense regiment of the Central Asian Military District from 1990 to 1993, a commander of the 493rd separate mechanized civil defense regiment from 1993 to 1996, and had been the First Deputy Head of the East Siberian Regional Center of the

EMERCOM The Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief (full name in Russian: Министерство Российской Федерации по делам гражданской обороны, чрезвычайным ситуаци ...

of Russia. In 1996, Popov was appointed head of the East Siberian regional center of the EMERCOM of Russia, and in 1999 - the head of the Siberian regional center of the EMERCOM of Russia. In these positions, he directly supervised the rescue operations at the crash site of the A-310 airbus near the city of Mezhdurechensk in

Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo Oblast (, ), also known as Kuzbass (, ), after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Kemerovo is the administrative center and largest city of the oblast. Kemerovo Oblast is one of Rus ...

on 23 March 1994, the liquidation of the consequences of the earthquake on the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

in 1994, and the

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

transport plane crash in the suburb of

Abakan Abakan ( ; , ) is the capital city of Khakassia, Russia, located in the central part of the Minusinsk Depression, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 165,214—a slight incre ...

in 1996. Under his leadership, the delivery of humanitarian cargo and construction materials to the flood-affected city of Lensk in 2001, the extinguishing of large forest fires in

Chita Oblast Chita Oblast ( rus, Чити́нская о́бласть, r=Čitínskaja óblastj, p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Chita. ...

in 2003, and the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake in the

Altai Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...

in 2003, as well as other emergencies were carried out. On 12 June 2004, by Decree of the President of Russia No. 751, Popov was awarded the military rank of

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

. In 2004, he was appointed head of the Civil Protection Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and held this position until 2008. From 2008 to 2013, Popov served as Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations. According to the income statement, in 2012 Popov earned more than 5.2 million rubles. In 2013, he was transferred to work at the Ministry of Defense and was appointed deputy minister. On 31 July 2013, the Minister of Defense,

Sergey Shoygu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Security Council since 2024. He served ...

, at the visiting meeting of the Collegium of the Ministry of Defense, announced that Popov would oversee the creation of the

National Defense Management Center The National Defense Management Center, also known as the National Defense Control Center (NDCC) (, ) НЦУО, formerly the Central Command Post of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces is the supreme Command center, command and control ...

. By the decree of the

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

, on 7 November 2013, Popov was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense Also, in connection with the appointment, he became a member of the collegium of the Russian Ministry of Defense. He is one of the developers of the concept for a multi-level system of permanently operating Russian Defense Control Centers. By the decree of the President of Russia on 11 December 2015, Popov was promoted to General of the Army. On 29 August 2024, Popov was detained by Russian authorities on corruption charges. He was accused of misappropriating funds intended for the

Patriot Park Patriot Park () is a theme park in Kubinka, Russia, that is themed around equipment of the Russian military and the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. The park, which officially opened in 2016, is designed around a military theme, and inc ...

to renovate his personal proprieties, as well as coercing the park's contractors to do work on his personal properties without pay.

Sanctions

On 15 October 2020, 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 ...

sanctioned Popov in connection with the poisoning of

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

. The sanctions include a ban on entry into the EU and on financial transactions, as well as an asset freeze. He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popov, Pavel 1957 births Living people People from Krasnoyarsk Russian military leaders Soviet Army officers Russian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Generals of the army (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Frunze Military Academy alumni Deputy defence ministers of Russia