Alexander Shishlyannikov

Alexander Shishlyannikov
Александр Шишлянников
Minister of Defence of Tajikistan
In office January 1993 – 7 April 1995
President	Emomali Rahmon
Preceded by	Post Established
Succeeded by	Sherali Khayrulloyev
Personal details
Born	(1950-11-03)3 November 1950 Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, USSR
Died	15 September 2023(2023-09-15) (aged 72) Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Military service
Branch	Soviet Army  Tajik Ground Forces
Service years	1971–1995
Rank	Major General
Conflicts	Soviet–Afghan War Tajik Civil War

Major General Alexander Vladimirovich Shishlyannikov (Russian: Александр Владимирович Шишлянников; 3 November 1950 – 15 September 2023) was a Tajik military officer and the first Minister of Defence of Tajikistan, serving from 1993 to 1995. He was an ethnic Russian.

Biography

Soviet Army

Alexander Shishlyannikov was born on 3 November 1950 in Tashkent, the capital of the Uzbek SSR. In 1971, he graduated from the Tashkent Higher Tank Command School in Chirchik, and 10 years later, he graduated from the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy in Moscow. In the 1980s, Shishlyannikov served in the Central and Turkestan Military District (based in the Kazakh and Uzbek capitals of Alma-Ata and Tashkent respectively), as well as the Western Group of Forces in East Germany. During this time, he was deployed with the Soviet 40th Army to Afghanistan in the early stages of the Soviet-Afghan War.^[1] By the time of the fall of the Soviet Union and the creation of independent nations, he was serving as an officer in the Uzbek defense ministry.^[2]

Tajikistan

In January 1993, Colonel Shishlyannikov was appointed the first defense minister of Tajikistan.^[3] He was among 200 officers brought from Uzbekistan on the orders of Emomali Rahmon.^[4][5] One month later on 23 February Shishlyannikov led the celebrations in honor of the founding of the Tajik Armed Forces. During his tenure, it was expected that he would be temporary and would eventually be replaced by Colonel Ramazon Radjabov, his deputy who was in favor with many elite circles.^[6]

Shishlyannikov played a key role in the early stages of the Tajik Civil War. In July of that year, he hosted visiting Russian defence minister Pavel Grachev, where he criticized the position of "individual leaders of the CIS countries" for the proposals of the CIS Joint Armed Forces Command to bring peacekeeping forces into the republic being unfulfilled.^[7] He was relieved of his post on 7 April 1995, being succeeded by Sherali Khayrulloyev.^[8][9]

Death

Alexander Shishlyannikov died on 15 September 2023, at the age of 72, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.^[10]

References

1. "::ТАДЖИКИСТАН − Гражданская война: общий ход событий::". www.tajikistan.turkestan.ru.
2. "Uzbek Role in Tajik Civil War is Ominous Portent for Central Asia". WRMEA. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
3. "CHAPTER TWO Consolidating a Weak State after Civil War: A Tajik Fable". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
4. "Сайт президента России: Эмомали Рахмон вошел в Душанбе с автоматом в руках". ИА REGNUM.
5. "I has created [Tajik] national army by myself, says President Rahmon". asiaplustj.info. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
6. "Он не вернулся из боя | Новости Таджикистана ASIA-Plus". asiaplustj.info.
7. "Павел Грачев посетил Таджикистан". www.kommersant.ru. 20 July 1993.
8. "Tajikistan -". www.globalsecurity.org.
9. "ШИШЛЯННИКОВ Александр − Биография − БД "Лабиринт"". www.labyrinth.ru.
10. "GENERAL XOTIRASIGA". mudofaa.uz. Retrieved 16 September 2023.