Russia’s Defence Ministry has revealed the name of its Eastern army group’s commander, RBC says. The man in question is Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, 49.
Muradov previously worked as deputy commander of Russia’s Southern military district between 2018 and 2020 before he led Russia’s peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory subject to dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The EU imposed personal sanctions on Muradov in February 2022.
Photo by Yerevan Today
Muradov is a veteran of both Chechen wars; he was awarded the Order of Courage twice, in 1996 and 2000, BBC Russia says. He served in Chechnya up until 2009.
Armenia was reluctant to accept Muradov as leader of Russia’s peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh since he was born in a Dagestani settlement mostly populated by ethnic Azeris. He, however, stated that “an army officer should have no notion of ethnicity.”
“Muradov attended the military academy of Russia’s General Staff when the war in eastern Ukraine began in 2014. He was involved in the Russo-Ukrainian bilateral commission on ceasefire in 2016,” BBC Russia says.
Earlier, the Defence Ministry revealed the names of Sergey Surovikin and Alexander Lapin, commanders of the Southern and Central army groups, respectively. BBC Russia later found out that Alexander Lapin awarded his son Denis Lapin, commander of a tank regiment, for participating in the offensive on Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv (the offensive was a failure).
