Viktor Astapov

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Viktor Borisovich Astapov (Russian: Виктор Борисович Астапов; born 9 December 1962) is an officer of the Russian Armed Forces. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant General, and since 2019 has served as a deputy commander in chief of the Russian Navy. Astapov entered the military after studying at the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School, serving in a regimental reconnaissance company of the Soviet Airborne Forces. Rising through the ranks, he saw service during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, subsequently becoming commander of a paratrooper battalion after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He saw action in the First and Second Chechen Wars as deputy commander of the 21st Airborne Brigade, and later as commander of the 51st Guards Airborne Regiment. By the mid-2000s, he was the commander of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, and after studies at the Military Academy of the General Staff, became chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Siberian Military District. Astapov went on to serve in senior staff positions in the Southern and Western Military Districts, rising to the rank of lieutenant-general, before becoming a deputy commander of the navy, with responsibility for the coastal troops. Over his career, he has received a number of awards, including 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.