Viktor Astapov

Astapov was born on 9 December 1962 in Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar Krai, then part of the Russian SFSR, in the USSR. Inspired by the 1971 film Officers, Astapov decided on a career in the military and settled on the Soviet Airborne Forces. After failing to gain entry to the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School on his first attempt, Astapov spent a year studying physics at Rostov State University, before succeeding in applying to the Ryazan Airborne School. He graduated in 1985 and went to serve in a regimental reconnaissance company of the Soviet Airborne Forces based in Tula. The following year he was appointed commander of the company and went with them to Baku, where he was posted during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. He subsequently received the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 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, becoming its commander two and a half years later. ==Commands and Chechen operations==

Astapov then carried out studies at the Frunze Military Academy, graduating in 1996 and becoming deputy commander of the 21st Airborne Brigade, which was seconded to Chechnya during the First and Second Chechen Wars. 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 an army of the Siberian Military District. ==Senior staff appointments==

From January 2011 Astapov served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District, 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 Western Military District. 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 Itsunori Onodera. 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. 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 Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" Third Class, and the Order of Military Merit, as well as a number of medals. He is married, with a son. ==References==