Lieutenant General Rovshan Telman oğlu Akbarov () is an Azerbaijani general and military leader.

Early life and career

He was born in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

in 1965. From 1972 to 1979, he received his secondary education in secondary school No.42. In 1979, he entered the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum. In 1982 he entered the Kiev Higher Combined Arms Command School (now the Odessa Military Academy). After graduating, he went serve in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

, where he was appointed commander of a platoon in the 342th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the

75th Motor Rifle Division 75th may refer to: *75th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2002, held on March 23, 2003 * 75th Avenue–61st Street Historic District, a national historic district in Ridgewood, Queens, New York *75th Grey Cup, the 1987 Canadian Football Lea ...

in Nakhchivan. In 1987, he was sent to serve in Afghanistan during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. In 1988, he returned to the

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

, where he became the head of a unit in the 409th Motorized Rifle Regiment.

Azerbaijani Army

During the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

, he worked as an assistant to the military commissar of the

Beylagan District Beylagan District ( az, Beyləqan rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country and belongs to the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Fuzuli, Aghjabadi, Zardab, Im ...

, and later in various positions in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. From 1992 to 1993, he was deputy commander of the

777th Special Forces Regiment The 777th Special Forces Regiment is a special forces unit in the Azerbaijani Land Forces. History First Karabakh War A special-purpose battalion (Military Unit 777) was created on 1 January 1992. Lieutenant Colonel Elchin Mammadov was appoin ...

, later commanding the unit until 1997. Akbarov was a participant in the suppression of the rebellion of the OPON unit under the leadership of

Rovshan Javadov Rovshan Bakhtiyar oghlu Javadov ( az, Rövşən Bəxtiyar oğlu Cavadov, 19 October 1951 – March 17, 1995) was an officer in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the chief of the Special Purpose Police Detachment of Azerbaijan (OPON). Born in wha ...

in March 1995. He was appointed Deputy Chief of the Personnel and Military Education Department of the Ministry in 1997, and in May 1998, he was appointed corps commander for the Baku Army Corps. He was a student of the Baku Higher Naval School in 1999 and the Ukrainian Military Academy in 2002. After returning from Ukraine, he was promoted to lieutenant general. He became the commander of the 3rd Shamkir Army Corps in 2011.

Criticism

Akbarov was said to be a supporter of the embattled former Chief of the General Staff,

Najmeddin Sadikov Najmeddin Huseyn oghlu Sadikov ( az, Nəcməddin Hüseyn oğlu Sadıkov; born May 24, 1956) is an Azerbaijani Colonel General who served as the incumbent Chief of the General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the First Deputy Minister of Def ...

. Like Sadikov, he has been commonly accused of treason on social media, and particularly during the July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes. There were also a number of rumours about Sadikov and Akbarov circulating on social media, claiming that they had collaborated with the Armenian Armed Forces and were responsible for non-combat deaths in the army.

Retirement and arrest

Ilham Aliyev in Shamkir - 10 september 2013 - 06

In February 2020, he was sent to the reserve along with Major General Khaghani Jabrayilov by order of the Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov. A year later, Akbarov was arrested for allegedly killing businessman Elchin Aliyev in Ukraine. He was arrested on 3 March in a criminal case investigated by the Investigation Department of the

General Prosecutor's Office A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Awards and Titles

* National Hero of Azerbaijan (October 1994) * Azerbaijani Flag Order (twice)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akbarov, Rovshan Azerbaijani generals National Heroes of Azerbaijan Kiev Military College of Frunze alumni Recipients of the Azerbaijani Flag Order Azerbaijani military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War People from Baku 1965 births Living people