Birth name Georgy I. Shpak Name Georgy Shpak | Years of service 1966–2003 Rank General | |
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Battles/wars Soviet War in AfghanistanYugoslavia WarsFirst Chechen War Commands held | ||
Service/branch Russian Airborne Troops | ||
Georgy Ivanovich Shpak (Russian: Георгий Иванович Шпак) was the governor of Ryazan Oblast, Russia from 2004 to 2008.
Contents
- Early life
- Military career
- District commands
- Retirement and political career
- Citations and orders
- Family
- Other
- References
He was the commander of Russian Airborne Troops from 1996 to 2003.
Early life
Born September 8, 1943, in Osipovichi, Mogilev region USSR to Ivan Antonovich, who worked all his life on the railroad, and Anna Akimovna, who worked as an accountant.
He enrolled and graduated from the Minsk Railway School majoring in locomotive engineering, locksmithing and as an electrician for locomotives.
Military career
He served as a soldier for six months in the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment in Ryazan, then entered the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, from which he graduated with honors in 1966 and was appointed commander of the cadet platoon.
In 1970 he became a company commander of cadets at the school in 1973 - lecturer at the department of tactics. Six months later he was appointed battalion commander in the 44th Airborne Training Division in the Baltic area.
After graduating in 1978 from the Military Academy. Shpak commanded the famous 350th Guards Airborne Regiment and deployed with it to Afghanistan on December 25, 1979.
He participated in combat operations in the Republic of Afghanistan (as commander of the 350th Guards Airborne Regiment), Yugoslavia and Chechnya.
After graduating in 1988 from the Military Academy of the General Staff, he became the first deputy commander of a Combined Arms Army in the Odessa Military District.
District commands
In 1989, Shpak became the commander of the 6th Army of the Leningrad Military District, and was later the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Turkestan Military District. Since 1992 - chief of staff - first deputy commander of the Volga Military District. From December 4, 1996 to September 8, 2003 - Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces.
Retirement and political career
In September 2003, after leaving the military service, he announced his intention to engage in politics and joined the people's patriotic bloc, and later - the Rodina party, in which he remained until October 2004. On December 7, 2003 was reelected to the Federal Assembly of Russia, where he became deputy chairman of the Defense Committee. In March 2004, ahead of the opponent in the second round, scored 53.5% of the votes and was elected governor of the Ryazan Oblast, where he remained until 2008.
Citations and orders
Orders:
Medals:
Certificates:
Local awards:
Honorary titles:
Family
He is married to his wife, Alla, with whom he has a son, Guards Lieutenant Oleg, who was killed in 1995, in the First Chechen War and daughter, Elena, who achieved the rank of colonel of medical service (Military Hospital, NNBurdenko). He has three grandchildren, Oleg, Anna and Alexander.
Other
In December 2011, he published a biographical book General Georgy Shpak, written by a friend and colleague, Boris Kostin.