Sergei Potapenko
{{Short description|Belarusian military leader}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| native_name = Сяргей Патапенка
Сергей Потапенко
| image =
| office = Chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union of Workers of State and Other Institutions
| term_start = March 2021
| office1 = Deputy Defense Minister of Belarus
| predecessor1 = Mikhail Puzikov
| president1 = Alexander Lukashenko
| term_start1 = 12 January 2016
| term_end1 = March 2021
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1961|3|14}}
| birth_place = Rzhavka, Minsk, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union
| allegiance = {{flag|USSR}}
{{flag|Belarus}}
| branch =
| serviceyears = 1982-present
| rank = Major General (Reserve)
| successor1 = Andrey Zhuk
}}
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.{{Cite news|url=http://m.belta.by/president/view/sergej-potapenko-naznachen-zamministra-oborony-belarusi-177184-2016/|title=Сергей Потапенко назначен замминистра обороны Беларуси|date=2016-01-12|work=Белорусское телеграфное агентство|access-date=2017-11-15|language=ru-RU}}{{Cite web |title=Сотрудники Республиканского комитета |url=https://profgos.1prof.by/o-profsoyuze/management/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=БЕЛОРУССКИЙ ПРОФСОЮЗ РАБОТНИКОВ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫХ И ДРУГИХ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЙ}}
Biography
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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mil.by/en/forces/squad/persons/757/|title=Sergei Potapenko {{!}} Official Website of Belarus MoD|website=www.mil.by|access-date=2017-04-02}}{{Cite web|url=http://mnsvu.org/index.php/option/content/task/view/id/829|title=Генерал-майору С.В. Потапенко исполнилось 50 лет - Минское суворовское военное училище|website=mnsvu.org|language=ru-RU|access-date=2017-11-15}}{{Cite web|url=http://belarusprofile.com/ru/profile/potapenko-sergey-vladimirovich|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325195612/http://belarusprofile.com/ru/profile/potapenko-sergey-vladimirovich|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 25, 2016|title=Потапенко Сергей Владимирович {{!}} Belarus Profile - директория представителей белорусской политики, гражданского общества и бизнеса|website=belarusprofile.com|language=ru|access-date=2017-11-15}} He was put under sanctions by Lithuania over his role in suppressing the 2020 Belarusian protests.{{Cite web|title=XIII-3303 Резолюция о санкциях в отношении белорусских должностных лиц, ответственных или принимавших участ...|url=https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/7f04993102eb11ebbedbd456d2fb030d?jfwid=i3h7wn4p4|access-date=2021-05-26|website=e-seimas.lrs.lt}} He was put in the reserves in March 2021.{{Cite web |title=Год в должности. Поговорили с председателем профсоюза работников госучреждений Сергеем Потапенко |url=https://grodnogos.by/god-v-dolzhnosti.-pogovorili-s-predsedatelem-profsoyuza-rabotnikov-gosuchrezhdenij-sergeem-potapenko.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Год в должности. Поговорили с председателем профсоюза работников госучреждений Сергеем Потапенко - grodnogos.by |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Big |date=2019-10-22 |title=Потапенко Сергей Владимирович - Минское СВУ |url=https://mnsvu.org/persona/potapenko-sergej-vladimirovich/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |work=Минское СВУ |language=ru-RU}}{{Cite web |title=Потапенко Сергей Владимирович - Кадетские биографии - Суворовское военное училище |url=https://www.svu.ru/biographies/biography/130.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=www.svu.ru}}
References
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