Lieutenant General
Andrei Ravkov
Ambassador of Belarus to Azerbaijan
Assumed office
16 February 2021
PresidentAlexander Lukashenko
Prime MinisterRoman Golovchenko
Preceded bySergei Aleinik
State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus
In office
20 January 2020 – 3 September 2020
PresidentAlexander Lukashenko
Prime MinisterSyarhey Rumas
Preceded byStanislav Zas
Succeeded byValery Vakulchik
Minister of Defence of Belarus
In office
27 November 2014 – 20 January 2020
PresidentAlexander Lukashenko
Prime MinisterAndrei Kobyakov
Syarhey Rumas
Preceded byYury Zhadobin
Succeeded byViktor Khrenin
Personal details
Born (1967-06-25) 25 June 1967
Revyaki, Vitebsk Region, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
SpouseNatalia Ravkova
Alma mater
Military service
Branch/serviceArmed Forces of Belarus
Years of service1984–Present
RankLieutenant General
Ravkov with Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan.
Ravkov (left) in the Hongqi L5 during the 2019 Minsk Independence Day Parade.

Lieutenant General Andrei Alekseyevich Ravkov (Belarusian: Андрэй Аляксеевіч Раўкоў, born on 25 June 1967 in Revyaki, Vitebsk Region) is a Belarusian General and military leader who last served as the State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus in 2020.

Early life and career

In 1984, he graduated from Minsk Suvorov Military School. In 1988, he graduated with honors from the Moscow Higher Military Command School. He worked his way from the commander of the platoon to commander of the battalion. In 1999, he graduated with a gold medal from the Command and Staff Department of the Military Academy of Belarus. In 2005, he graduated with honours from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and was appointed commander of the 103rd Separate Guards Mobile Brigade. From 2006 to 2012 he served as Chief of the Operations Department and concurrently as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Western Operational Command. On 16 November 2012, he became Commander of the North Western Operational Command.[1] That year, he was elected to the Minsk regional council of deputies from Borisov. By order of President Alexander Lukashenko on 24 November 2014, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Defence.[2]

Activities as Minister of Defense

In the run-up to the 2015 Minsk Victory Day Parade, Ravkov ordered the changing of the open top inspection vehicle used on Victors Avenue from the traditional ZIL-41044 to the Hongqi L5, which is an official state car in China.[3] In 2017, after the death of a conscript soldier Alexander Korzhich due to repeated hazing, he reaffirmed his support in the conscription system while conceding that it needed changes due to the lack of recruits. In late September 2017, Ravkov presided over the Zapad 2017 exercise with Russia. He announced in November 2018 that the national defence plan for 2019 will be adjusted to come in line with the most recent military doctrine.[4]

In June 2019, he announced the entry of a bill in the House of Representatives, the largest of its provisions being a mechanism that institutes mandatory military service. In the substantiation of the law's draft, authored by Ravkov, the need to for this is justified by the fact that the chairmen of local executive authorities and their deputies head their own territorial defense zones. On 28 June 2019, the House of Representatives passed this bill in second reading. After the law enters into force, eligible graduates of higher educational institutions such as Belarusian State University are required to engage in military service immediately and will not be able to continue their postgraduate studies.[5][6][7][8][9] He was dismissed in January 2020, succeeding Stanislav Zas as Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus.[10]

Security Council chief

He was dismissed on 3 September 2020, being succeeded by the Chairman of the KGB, Valery Vakulchik.[11]

Post-military

On 19 November, he was appointed as the Ambassador to Azerbaijan.[12] On 16 February 2021, he presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.[13][14]

International sanctions

In August 2020, Ravkov was put under sanctions by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania over his role in suppressing the 2020 Belarusian protests.[15][16] On 6 November 2020, he was sanctioned by the European Union,[17] the United Kingdom,[18] and Canada.[19] On 24 November, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania aligned themselves with the November EU sanctions against 15 Belarusian individuals,[20] while Switzerland did the same on 11 December.[21]

Dates of rank

Promotions
InsigniaRankDate
Colonel2004[22]
Major General2011[23]
Lieutenant General2015[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Andrei Ravkov — Military information portal of the Ministry of Defence of Republic of Belarus". Mil.by. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Andrei Ravkov appointed Belarus' Defense Minister Belarusian Telegraph Agency
  3. ↑ "Hongqi L5 Convertible Parade Car Debuts In Belarus". 17 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Belarus to adjust national defense plan in 2019". M.eng.belta.by. 2018-11-01. Archived from the original on 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  5. ↑ "Обратите внимание на воспитание детей не только для армии". Равков обратился к родителям
  6. ↑ Равков: По результатам проверки в 16 частях после смерти Коржича заведено 48 дел
  7. ↑ Министр обороны анонсировал изменения в отсрочках от армии. По здоровью останутся
  8. ↑ "Не служившие в армии без веских оснований не смогут поступить на госслужбу. Как меняются правила призыва". Archived from the original on 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  9. ↑ Минобороны закрепило в проекте закона требование только одной отсрочки от службы
  10. ↑ "Leadership of military departments changed in Belarus".
  11. ↑ "Belarusian leader reshuffles security chiefs in face of mass protests". Reuters.
  12. ↑ "Personnel changes concern system of diplomatic missions of Belarus abroad and Interior Ministry".
  13. ↑ "Ambassador of Belarus A.Ravkov presented his Credentials to the President of Azerbaijan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus". mfa.gov.by. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  14. ↑ MENAFN. "Belarus always supported sovereignty, territorial integrity of Azerbaijan - ambassador". menafn.com. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  15. ↑ "XIII-3303 Резолюция о санкциях в отношении белорусских должностных лиц, ответственных или принимавших участ..." e-seimas.lrs.lt. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  16. ↑ Свабода, Радыё (2020-08-31). "Латвія, Літва і Эстонія ўключылі Лукашэнку і яшчэ 29 чыноўнікаў ў спіс пэрсон нон-грата. Поўны сьпіс". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  17. ↑ Евросоюз ввел санкции против Лукашенко и ряда белорусских чиновников
  18. ↑ "Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  19. ↑ "Belarus sanctions". Government of Canada. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  20. ↑ "Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures against Belarus". Council of the European Union. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  21. ↑ "Belarus: Federal Council extends scope of sanctions". Federal Council. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  22. ↑ "Указ Президента Республики Беларусь от 26 мая 2004 г. № 253 "О присвоении воинских и специальных званий"". Archived from the original on 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  23. ↑ Указ Президента Республики Беларусь от 22 февраля 2011 г. № 63 «О присвоении О. А. Белоконеву воинского звания»
  24. ↑ "Belarusian Defence Minister Promoted to Lieutenant General — Military information portal of the Ministry of Defence of Republic of Belarus". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
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