Vladimir Petrovich Kononov (russian: Влади́мир Петро́вич Ко́нонов; born October 14, 1974; '' nom de guerre'' Tsar) is a former defence minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, serving from August 15, 2014 after the resignation of

Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...

(also known as Igor Strelkov) until October 1, 2018. Kononov is a Donetsk local. In 2014, he was a lieutenant colonel, and by 2015 was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Biography

Vladimir Petrovich Kononov was born in 1974 in the city of Gorskoe of the Lugansk region. He graduated from

Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...

and the aviation college of civil aviation in 1995, and from the Slavic State Pedagogical Institute in 1999. He was professionally engaged in sports and pedagogical activities, and worked as a coach in the Judo Federation of Donetsk region. He has 20 years of coaching experience in

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. He also passed special training for senior commanders. On April 13, 2014 he volunteered in the people's militia of Donbass, and led the checkpoint in

. He commanded the unit in confrontation in battles in Sloviansk, Shakhtorsk,

Ilovaysk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Khartsyzk municipality, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is ''de facto'' under the military occupation of Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional railroad h ...

Mospino Mospyne (, ; ) is a city of district significance in the Proletarskyi District of the Donetsk municipality, Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine, 8 km southeast of Donetsk. Population is estimated as . Population in 2001 was 11,736. Since ...

and other settlements. His military rank (as of August 2014) was lieutenant colonel. After the resignation of Igor Strelkov, he became acting defense minister of the People's Republic of Donetsk. He became defense minister of the Donetsk People's Republic on August 14, 2014. On October 1 2018, the Donetsk People's Republic allegedly abolished the office of defence minister.https://hromadske.ua/posts/nove-kerivnytstvo-dnr
https://www.novayagazeta.ru/articles/2018/09/23/77936-batalony-prosyat-uglya He is married and has a child.Biography of Vladimir Kononov
// RIA Novosti, 08/15/2014 His younger brother is one of the commanders of the militia of the NDP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kononov, Vladimir 1974 births Living people People from Hirske People of the Donetsk People's Republic Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Ukrainian collaborators with Russia