Sergey Vladimirovich Potapenko (

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

: Сяргей Уладзіміравіч Патапенка, ''Siargiej Uladzimiravič Patapienka'') is a Belarusian military leader and the current Deputy Minister of Defense. He was born on 14 March 1961 in Rzhavka, a section of the Minsk region of the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, which is modern-day

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. In 1982, he graduated from the Ulyanovsk Guards Higher Tank Command School. He served as a commander of a tank platoon. He graduated from the Malinovsky Military Armoured Forces Academy in 1992. He worked for the 72nd Joint Training Centre on several staff positions and rose through the ranks from being a senior officer of the training division to the head of the training centre. In 2008, Potapenko was appointed deputy commander of the North-Western Operational Command. He also commanded the Western Operational Command from 2010 to 2015. In June 2015, he served as the head of the Main Combat Training Directorate of the Belarusian Armed Forces. On 12 January 2016, Potapenko was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence by order of a presidential decree. It was in this position where he has commanded every

Minsk Independence Day Parade The Minsk Independence Day Parade ( be, Парад у Мінску ў гонар Незалежнасці Беларусі) also known as the July 3 Parade is the main event of the Independence Day of Belarus. This parade is held annually in Mins ...

since July 2016 on

Victors Avenue Victors Avenue ( be, Праспект Пераможцаў, russian: Проспект Победителей) is a public avenue in Minsk, Belarus. History Until 1980, it was called the Park Highway. For a long time, the northwest center of Mins ...

. He was put under sanctions by

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania ...

over his role in suppressing the 2020 Belarusian protests.

References

Living people Belarusian military personnel 1961 births {{mil-bio-stub