Viktor Borisovich Astapov (; born 9 December 1962) is an officer of 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 currently holds the rank of

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 ...

, and since 2019 has served as a deputy commander in chief of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

. Astapov entered the military after studying at the

Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School The General V.F. Margelov Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Command School (RGVVDKU) () is a military educational institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense, situated in Ryazan, about southeast of Moscow. It was ...

, serving in a regimental reconnaissance company of the

Soviet Airborne Forces The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed b ...

. Rising through the ranks, he saw service during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, subsequently becoming commander of a paratrooper battalion after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He saw action in the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

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 ...

s as deputy commander of the 21st Airborne Brigade, and later as commander of the . By the mid-2000s, he was the commander of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, and after studies at the Military Academy of the General Staff, became chief of staff and first deputy commander of the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

. Astapov went on to serve in senior staff positions in the Southern and

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

s, rising to the rank of lieutenant-general, before becoming a deputy commander of the navy, with responsibility for the coastal troops. Over his career, he has received a number of awards, including the Order of Courage, the

Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" (), also known as the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", was a Soviet Union, Soviet Order (honour), military order awarded in three classes ...

Third Class, and the Order of Military Merit.

Early life and service

Astapov was born on 9 December 1962 in

Tikhoretsk Tikhoretsk () is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the administrative center of the Tikhoretsky urban settlement and the Tikhoretsky District of the Krasnodar Territory. Population: Administrative and municipal status Within the framew ...

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 ...

, then part of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Inspired by the 1971 film ''Officers'', Astapov decided on a career in the military and settled on the

. After failing to gain entry to the

on his first attempt, Astapov spent a year studying physics at

Rostov State University Southern Federal University (), abbreviated as SFedU () and formerly known as Rostov State University (1957–2006), is a public university in Rostov Oblast, Russia with campuses in Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog. In 2023 ''US News & World Repor ...

, before succeeding in applying to the Ryazan Airborne School. He graduated in 1985 and went to serve in a regimental reconnaissance company of the

based in Tula. The following year he was appointed commander of the company and went with them to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, where he was posted during the

. He subsequently received the

Third Class for his service in policing the rising tensions. On his return to Russia, he was appointed chief of staff of a paratrooper battalion of the

106th Guards Airborne Division The 106th Guards Tula Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Airborne Division (; MUN 55599), more generally referred to as the Tula Division, is one of the four airborne divisions of the Russian Airborne Troops, the VDV (). Based in the city of Tula, ...

, becoming its commander two and a half years later.

Commands and Chechen operations

Astapov then carried out studies at 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 ...

, graduating in 1996 and becoming deputy commander of the 21st Airborne Brigade, which was seconded to Chechnya during the

and

s. In 1999 he was given command of the , and took charge of the regiment's withdrawal from Chechnya. Despite continuing attacks on withdrawing Russian forces, Astapov brought off the withdrawal with minimal losses and was awarded the Order of Courage and the

Medal "For Distinction in Military Service" The Medal "For Distinction in Military Service" () was a military decoration awarded in two classes by the Soviet Union and later by the Russian Federation (until 1995), to deserving military personnel of the Ministry of Defense, of internal troops ...

, first and second classes. He then became the commander of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division between 2005 and 2007. He graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in 2009 and was then appointed to the post of chief of staff and first deputy commander of the

Senior staff appointments

From January 2011 Astapov served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the

49th Combined Arms Army The 49th Combined Arms Army () is a combined arms ( field) army (CAA) of the Russian Ground Forces, formed in 2010 and headquartered in Stavropol. Military Unit в/ч 35181. Part of the Southern Military District, the army traces its heritage ba ...

of the

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country ...

, and in May 2012 became commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army. As army commander, he was also head of the Stavropol Territorial Garrison. From December 2013 to April 2014, he was deputy commander of the Southern Military District, being promoted from general-major to general-lieutenant on 24 February 2014. On 21 June 2014, he was appointed chief of staff and first deputy commander of the

. As chief of staff of the Western Military District, Astapov was heavily involved in planning and carrying out the

Zapad 2017 exercise Zapad may refer to: * Zapad exercise, several Soviet and Russian military exercises * Západ, 1896 Czech novel * Zapad-4 neighborhood of Minsk, also known as "microdistrict of Minsk" * Russian special battalion "Zapad" See also

* {{disambig ...

s. On 1 August 2018, while serving as acting commander of the Western Military District, Astapov met with a Japanese military delegation in Saint Petersburg, led by

Defence Minister 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 ...

Itsunori Onodera is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He served as the Minister of Defense from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2017 to 2018. Early life and educa ...

. In February 2019 Astapov was moved from the position of chief of staff of the Western Military District to the post of a deputy commander of the navy, with responsibility for the coastal troops. It was noted at the time that Astapov had experience from participating in 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 ...

. His replacement as chief of staff of the Western Military District was Lieutenant-General .

Awards and personal life

Over his career, Astapov has been awarded the Order of Courage, the

Third Class, and the Order of Military Merit, as well as a number of medals. He is married, with a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astapov, Viktor 1962 births Living people People from Tikhoretsk Russian lieutenant generals Soviet Army officers Personnel of the Soviet Airborne Forces Russian Navy personnel Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war Frunze Military Academy alumni Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class 20th-century Russian military personnel 21st-century Russian military personnel Russian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) Russian Airborne Forces personnel