Key Persons

Vladimir Shamanov

Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Development of Civil Society, Public and Religious Organizations

Vladimir Shamanov is one of the distinguished representatives of the Russian military elite. He is one of those rare breed of politicians, who participated in the 2008 Russia-Georgia War and currently works to the detriment of Georgian interests in the State Duma as well.

General Biographical Information 

  • Vladimir Shamanov was born on February 15, 1957 in the city of Barnaul, Altai Krai, RSFSR, USSR.
  • In 1978 he graduated from Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, in 1989 from Frunze Military Academy and in 1998 – Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Federation armed forces.
  • Shamanov is a distinguished military specialist and a Candidate of Social Sciences (1997).
  • Over his extended military career (1978-2016) he participated in various conflicts, including in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in 1992 on the Azerbaijani side, First and Second Wars of Chechnya and the 2008 Russia-Georgia August War.
  • In 1999 he was given the title of the Hero of the Russian Federation for conducting combat operations in Dagestan in August-September of that year. He is the President of the Russian Heroes’ Association.
  • On May 30, 2012, at the Directive of the President, he was given the title of General-Colonel.
  • He has received numerous awards, including the medal for “taking back Crimea” and a cross for “service in the Caucasus”.
  • In one of the interviews, Shamanov admitted that there were numerous cases of pillaging by Russian troops during fights in Chechnya. According to him, some professional military servicemen were going to Chechnya in order to improve their material conditions. He accused the government of paying low salaries to the soldiers.
  • In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Shamanov was responsible for the military operation in Chechnya that seriously violated human rights. The federal military forces under Shamanov’s command were accused of killing innocent civilians in various villages of Chechnya in 1999 and 2000.
  • In 2010, Shamanov got into a serious car accident while moving with a work vehicle in Tula District, as a result of which his driver died.

Military Career

  • After graduating from university, he was the Commander of Platoon in the 76th Airborne Division from 1978 to 1979.
  • From 1979 to 1984 he was Commander of Student Platoon and Company at Ryazan Airborne Command School.
  • From 1984 to 1986 he was the Commander of the Paratrooper Battalion at the 76th Airborne Division.
  • In 1989-1990 he was the Deputy Commander of the 300th Paratrooper Regiment of the 98th Airborne Division. The Regiment was stationed in Chisinau, Moldova SSR.
  • From 1990, he was the Commander of the 328th Paratrooper Regiment of the 104th Airborne Division. In 1992, he fought in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the side of Azerbaijan.
  • In 1994-1995, he was the Deputy Commander of the 7th Airborne Division and the Chief of Staff. This was Shamanov’s first encounter with Abkhazia in his military career.
  • From March 1995, he was the Commander of Operative Group of the 7th Airborne Division and was performing combat tasks in Chechnya, during which he got heavily wounded. He refused hospitalization and returned to the battlefield quite soon. From October 1995, he was the Deputy Commander of the Ministry of Defense army grouping in Chechnya and the Commander of the Deputy Commander of the 58th Army. In April-July 1996 he was the Commander of the Ministry of Defense army grouping in Chechnya. During his command, the federal forces took the city of Bamut after the third storm.
  • In 1998, after graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff, he was the First Deputy Commander of Moscow Military District Army and Chief of Staff. From August 1999 he was the Commander of the North Caucasus Military District Army. From September 1999, he was the Commander of the Western Division of the federal forces grouping in North Caucasus. He participated in the conquest of Grozny by Russian troops.
  • From 2001 to 2004 he temporarily moved from the military sphere to regional politics and was the Governor of the District of Ulyanovsk. He won the elections in the first round.
  • In November 2004 he was dismissed from military service and appointed to the position of Assistant to the Prime Minister of Russia.
  • In 2006-2007 he was an Advisor to the Minister of Defense.
  • In November 2007 he was returned to military service on a contractual basis and appointed to the position of the Head of Combat Training and Army Services General Division of the Russian armed forces.
  • In the period of the 2008 Russia-Georgia August War, he was the Commander of the Russian military grouping in Abkhazia. Shamanov headed the operation for occupying the Kodori Gorge during the 2008 August War.
  • On May 24, 2009, he became the Commander of Airborne Forces - a position he served from 2009 to 2016 from which he was dismissed after being elected as MP to the State Duma.

Political Career

  • As a result of State Duma elections in 2016, he became an MP of the State Duma of 7th convocation from the ruling party United Russia. He was elected as the Chairman of the Defense Committee on October 5. As the Chairman of the Committee he often made statements regarding Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, especially often talking about the Russia-Georgia August War, in which he participated directly.
  • In 2021 he was elected in State Duma of 8th convocation. He became the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Development of Civil Society, Public and Religious Organizations.

Relations with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region

  • On July 24, 2018, during his meeting with Abkhazian and Ossetian journalist, he stated that Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region are protected from a new military aggression:  “After Russian recognition, Russian military bases are placed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. I am calm due to stable situation in these regions”. According to Shamanov’s assessment, Georgian aspirations towards NATO destabilize the situation. About the unification of two Ossetias, Shamanov stated that “today is not the best period for the unification of North and South Ossetia in a single region; however, such an issue can be considered in the future”.
  • In August 2018, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Russia-Georgia August War, Shamanov held a briefing, where he talked about his secret mission in August 2008. According to his recollections, four months before the 2008 August War, he received a secret task to go to Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region and assess the situation there. According to his statement “we saw not only the attempts from the Georgian side to increase tension, but also clear steps, especially towards Ossetia, which were directly leading to armed conflict”.
  • Shamanov paid a private visit to Abkhazia in May 2022. He visited the Church of St. George in Ilori and met with the Head of the Abkhazian Orthodox Church, Besarion Aplia.