Yakov Rezantsev

Commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation

General Biographical Information

• Yakov Rezantsev was born on January 4, 1973, the Altai Krai, the RSFSR, the Soviet Union.
• In 1994, graduated with a gold medal form the Marshal K. K. Rokossovsky Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School.
• In 2002, graduated with distinction from the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
• In 2008, graduated with a gold medal from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
• Held all major command positions from a cadet platoon commander to a motorized infantry brigade commander.
• Rezantsev was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Medal of Suvorov and other state awards. He is also awarded with orders of the de facto government of Abkhazia, including the medal For Military Courage.
• He was promoted to the rank of major general in 2013 and the rank of lieutenant general in 2021.

Military Career

• In 2010-2011, he was the Commander of the 57th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade.
• In 2011-2015, was the Commander of the 7th military base of the Russian Federation in Abkhazia.
• Served as Chief of Staff of the 20th General Army of the Western Military District.
• In 2018, was appointed as the Commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation.
• In October 2020, he was officially appointed as the Commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army of Russia. He replaced Mikhail Zusko in this position. The 7th military base of the Russian Federation in Abkhazia is part of the 49th Combined Arms Army.
• He participated in military operations in Syria.
• According to Ukrainian reports, Rezantsev was killed on March 25, 2022 as a result of Ukrainian artillery firing at the Kherson airport which was under the control of the Russian military at that time.

Relations with Abkhazia

• On July 21, 2012, Yakov Rezantsev attended a ceremony dedicated to the 94th anniversary of the formation of the 7th military base and congratulated the base personnel on the anniversary.
• On November 23, 2013, Rezantsev gave an interview to the Echo of Moscow radio, where he spoke about the history of the 7th military base, its structure, social infrastructure and development plans.
• On January 7, 2014, participated in a Christmas celebration at the 7th military base. He addressed the audience and wished them a Merry Christmas.
• On June 26, 2014, attended a solemn event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the deployment   of Russian “peacekeepers” in Abkhazia. In his speech, Rezantsev spoke about the history of the establishment of the 7th military base, the base future plans and noted that according to the action plan, the development of social infrastructure of the military base would be the priority until 2020.
• On September 29, 2020, Rezantsev congratulated the de facto President, Aslan Bzhania, on the “Independence Day” of Abkhazia. His official letter was handed over to Bzhania by Oleg Senkov, the Commander of the 7th military base. Bzhania said that Rezantsev was his “dear friend” who “made a personal contribution to the security of Abkhazia.”
• On October 29, 2020, Rezantsev he gave an interview to the Stavropolskaya Pravda newspaper, where he said that the 7th military base in Abkhazia was the first point he arrived after assuming the post of the Commander of the 49th Army. He outlined the base improved infrastructure and the progress made over the last six years.