Popov Pavel

Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Pavel Alexandrovich Popov was born on January 1, 1957 in Krasnoyarsk. In 1978, he graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School, later in 1990 - from the Frunze Military Academy. The beginning of his career is associated with military service in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, where he served from 1978 to 1986. From 1986 to 1990, Popov was the commander of a motorized rifle battalion in the Far Eastern Military District. Between 1990 and 1993, he served as chief of staff - deputy commander of a separate mechanized civil defense regiment of the Central Asian Military District. From 1993 to 1996, he was the commander of 493 separate mechanized civil defense regiments of the East Siberian regional center of the EMERCOM of Russia. In the period from 1996 to 1999, Pavel Popov headed the East Siberian Regional Center of the EMERCOM of Russia. In 1999-2004, he was the head of the Siberian regional center of the EMERCOM of Russia.

Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the head of the Academy of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia. From 2008 to 2013, he served as Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies, and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters. In 2013, Pavel Popov moved to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation as an assistant to the head of the department, Sergei Shoigu. Since November 7, 2013, he officially holds the post of Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation. Popov oversees the Main Directorate of Research and Technological Support of Advanced Technologies, the Information Systems Department, and the Main Research and Testing Center of Robotics of the Ministry of Defense.

During the year of service in the Ministry of Defense, the media mentioned his name for two reasons. The first time, when the income statements of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for 2012 were published, and Pavel Popov turned out to be the highest-paid rescuer. His annual income was 5.2 million rubles (433 thousand rubles monthly). For the second time, the name of Popov was publicly mentioned by the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu. In July 2013, at the ministry collegium, the minister announced that the colonel-general would set up a national center for state defense - a structure for managing strategic nuclear forces and the daily life of troops. The center would be created in 2014, its main task is to coordinate the actions of all departments in the event of a war. In peacetime, the center will help the military conduct exercises by negotiating with civilian departments.

Participation in the poisoning of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

On October 15, 2020, European Union introduced sanctions against Pavel Popov in connection with the poisoning of politician Alexei Navalny. The sanctions include a ban on entry into the EU and on financial transactions, as well as an asset freeze.

The reason for the imposition of sanctions against Popov was that in the department he oversees the main department of research and technological support of advanced technologies. The department is responsible for the stockpiles of chemical weapons inherited from the Soviet Union and their safe storage until complete destruction.

“The use of chemical weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation could only be the result of intent or negligence of the Ministry of Defense and its leadership. Pavel Popov, who holds a leading position in the ministry, is responsible for assisting the persons who carried out the poisoning of Alexei Navalny or those involved in it,” the EU Council statement said.

On March 2, 2021, Pavel Popov was also put on the sanctions list by the US Treasury Department in connection with the situation around Alexei Navalny. As stated in the statement of the Ministry of Finance, he is responsible for research activities, which include the supervision and development of the scientific and technical potential of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The imposed sanctions provide for the blocking of all property or property rights in the United States. Also, individuals and legal entities of the United States are prohibited from entering into any transactions with those on the list.