Sergey Vladimirovich Potapenko (Belarusian: Сяргей Уладзіміравіч Патапенка, Siargiej Uladzimiravič Patapienka) is a Belarusian military leader and the current Chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union of Workers of State and Other Institutions.[1][2]

Sergei Potapenko
Сяргей Патапенка
Сергей Потапенко
Chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union of Workers of State and Other Institutions
Assumed office
March 2021
Deputy Defense Minister of Belarus
In office
12 January 2016 – March 2021
PresidentAlexander Lukashenko
Preceded byMikhail Puzikov
Succeeded byAndrey Zhuk
Personal details
Born (1961-03-14) 14 March 1961 (age 63)
Rzhavka, Minsk, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Union
 Belarus
Years of service1982-present
RankMajor General (Reserve)

Biography

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He was born on 14 March 1961 in Rzhavka, a section of the Minsk region of the Byelorussian SSR, which is modern-day Belarus. In 1978, he graduated from the Minsk Suvorov Military School. 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 Guards 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.

From 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.[3][4][5] He was put under sanctions by Lithuania over his role in suppressing the 2020 Belarusian protests.[6] He was put in the reserves in March 2021.[7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Сергей Потапенко назначен замминистра обороны Беларуси". Белорусское телеграфное агентство (in Russian). 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  2. ^ "Сотрудники Республиканского комитета". БЕЛОРУССКИЙ ПРОФСОЮЗ РАБОТНИКОВ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫХ И ДРУГИХ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЙ. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  3. ^ "Sergei Potapenko | Official Website of Belarus MoD". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  4. ^ "Генерал-майору С.В. Потапенко исполнилось 50 лет - Минское суворовское военное училище". mnsvu.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  5. ^ "Потапенко Сергей Владимирович | Belarus Profile - директория представителей белорусской политики, гражданского общества и бизнеса". belarusprofile.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  6. ^ "XIII-3303 Резолюция о санкциях в отношении белорусских должностных лиц, ответственных или принимавших участ..." e-seimas.lrs.lt. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  7. ^ "Год в должности. Поговорили с председателем профсоюза работников госучреждений Сергеем Потапенко". Год в должности. Поговорили с председателем профсоюза работников госучреждений Сергеем Потапенко - grodnogos.by. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  8. ^ Big (2019-10-22). "Потапенко Сергей Владимирович - Минское СВУ". Минское СВУ (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  9. ^ "Потапенко Сергей Владимирович - Кадетские биографии - Суворовское военное училище". www.svu.ru. Retrieved 2024-05-29.