Andrey Valeryevich Kartapolov (russian: Андрей Валериевич Картаполов; born 9 November 1963) is a Russian politician and former army officer of the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

. From 30 July 2018 to October 2021 he served as Deputy

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, and headed the

Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces The Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (''GVPU VS RF'') () is the central military-political organization of the Russian Armed Forces, responsible for instilling ideological loyalty to the ruling gove ...

. He had commanded the

Western Military District The Western Military District (russian: Западный военный округ, Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, ...

from 2015 to 2016, and again from 2017 to 2018. Kartapolov has held the rank of

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

since 2015. He is currently a member of parliament, a deputy of the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

, elected on 19 September 2021.

Biography

Andrey Kartapolov was born in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, on 9 November 1963. He graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in 1985, the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), 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 (rus ...

in 1993, and the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (russian: Военная академия Генерального штаба Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации) is the s ...

in 2007. Kartapolov rose from platoon commander to commander of a motorized rifle division 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 Occupati ...

, the Western Group of Forces, and the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...

. From 2007 to 2008, he was the Deputy Army Commander in 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 ...

, and from 2008 to 2009, he was the Chief of Staff of the 22nd Guards Army in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...

. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Head of the Directorate of the . From May 2010 to January 2012, Kartapolov was the Commander of the

58th Army The 58th Combined Arms Army (russian: 58-я общевойсковая армия) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered at Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, within Russia's Southern Military District. It was formed in 1941 as pa ...

of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

, then the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

. Between January 2012 and February 2013, he was the Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District. On 13 December 2012, Kartapolov was awarded the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

. From February 2013 to June 2014, he was the Chief of Staff of the

, and between June 2014 and 9 November 2015, he was the Chief of the Main Operations Directorate - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. On 11 June 2015, Kartapolov was promoted to

. On 10 November 2015, Kartapolov was appointed commander of the

. On 23 November 2015, he was presented by the Minister of Defense,

Sergey Shoygu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...

, to the leadership of the Western Military District and he was awarded the standard of the commander of the district. From 19 December 2016 to March 2017, Kartapolov was the commander of the Russian group of forces in Syria. During his command after an operation involving Russian aviation and

Russian Special Operations Forces The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly known as the Special Operations Forces (SOF; rus, Силы специальных операций; ССО, Sily spetsial’nykh operatsiy; SSO) are strategic-l ...

on 2 March 2017, Palmyra was returned to the control of the

Syrian government Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...

for the second time. On 30 July 2018, by

decree of the President of Russia A Decree of the President of the Russian Federation (russian: Указ Президента Российской Федерации; ''Ukaz Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') or Executive Order (Decree) of the President of Russia is a legal act ( ...

, Kartapolov was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, the Head of the Main Military-Political Directorate. He thus became the ninth Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia and headed the GVPU, recreated on the same day, to strengthen military-patriotic education in the Armed Forces of Russia. On 9 August 2018, he was presented to the personnel, on 31 August 2018, the Minister of Defense, Shoygu, presented him with a personal standard. In addition to the Main Military-Political Directorate, Kartapolov is subordinate to the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense, the Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, for work with citizens' appeals and the Military Heraldic Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. On 18 November 2019, the Decree of the President of Russia, No. 561, Kartapolov was included in the

Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation The Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation (translated various ways), Russian: ''Геральдический совет при Президенте Российской Федерации'', is a part of the Russian Presidenti ...

. He is a member of the Collegium of the Ministry of Defense. At the end of April 2021, Kartapolov applied for participation in the primaries of the

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

party. If he wins, he will participate in the upcoming elections to the

on a party list in Moscow. On 5 October 2021, by decree of the President of Russia, Kartapolov was relieved of his post as head of the Main Military-Political Directorate and released from military service in connection with his transfer to work in the State Duma. He is one of the members of the

the United States Treasury sanctioned on 24 March 2022 in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Controversies

Allegations of involvement in the destruction of MH17

On 17 July 2014, a Buk-M1 missile, according to unofficial foreign experts, from the

53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade The 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade is a surface-to-air missile brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. Part of the 20th Guards Army, the brigade is based at Kursk. Formed from an anti-aircraft regiment in 1967 in Armenia, the brigade was transfe ...

of the Russian Air Defense, shot down a Boeing 777 belonging to Malaysian Airlines over the territory of Ukraine, killing 298 people. According to an unofficial international research group investigating the disaster, Buk-M1 installations were secretly transferred to Ukraine in June 2014. The 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Air Defense belongs to the Western Military District, of which Kartapolov was the chief of staff at that time. Thus, according to experts, the transfer of anti-aircraft systems by his subordinates to the territory of Ukraine and the attack of air targets over its territory took place with his knowledge and on his order.

Allegations of involvement in fabricating false evidence

On 21 July 2014, Kartapolov, taking part in a press conference of the Ministry of Defense, said that the means of radar surveillance of the Ministry of Defense recorded that shortly before the crash, a

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...

aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was flying at a distance of 3-5 km from the Malaysian Boeing. According to statements published on the Bellingcat website, a check carried out by international experts showed that the data provided by Kartapolov was deliberately fabricated and no Ukrainian military aircraft were recorded in the vicinity of Boeing on the day of the crash. The Ministry of Defense declared that these conclusions were far-fetched. On 16 February 2015, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

included him in the sanctions list of persons whose assets are frozen in the EU and in respect of whom visa restrictions have been introduced. On 26 September 2016, at a briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defense, Deputy Chief Designer of the Lianozovsky Electromechanical Plant Research and Production Association Viktor Meshcheryakov said that the Utyos T radar complex showed that there were no third-party air objects near the Malaysian aircraft. This statement was made in the presence of the official representative of the Ministry of Defense, Major General

Igor Konashenkov Lieutenant General Igor Yevgenyevich Konashenkov (russian: Игорь Евгеньевич Конашенков; born 15 May 1966) is a Russian military officer serving as the chief spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federa ...

and the head of the radio-technical troops of the Aerospace Forces, Major General Andrey Koban. This information is an actual refutation of Kartapolov's statement two years earlier.По ложному следу: Минобороны заявило, что Киев скрывает данные о МH17
26.09.2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kartapolov, Andrey 1963 births Living people Military personnel from Weimar Russian colonel generals Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Courage Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war Eighth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Russian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Deputy Defence Ministers of Russia