Aleksandr Lapin (general)
Aleksandr Pavlovich Lapin (; born 1 January 1964) is a Russian army officer who was the commander of the Central Military District from 22 November 2017 until 29 October 2022. He was promoted to the rank of colonel general in 2019. He was the commander of the Army Group "Center" of the Russian Army Forces in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 10 January 2023, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Russian Ground Forces. Biography Early life and career Aleksandr Lapin was born on 1 January 1964 to a working-class family. After graduating from high school, he studied at the Kazan Chemical–Technological Institute from 1981 to 1982. From 1982 to 1984 he served in the ranks of the Soviet Army in the Soviet Air Defense Forces. After that, he entered the Kazan Higher Tank Command School named after the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, from which he graduated in 1988. After graduation, he served as commander of a tank platoon and tank company in the Leningrad Military District and in the Coastal Forces of the Northern Fleet. High posts In 1997, he graduated from the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy. After