Konstantin Kozlov

The Representative of the Customs Service of the Russian Federation in Abkhazia

General biographical information

• Kozlov was born in 1968, in the city of Kuznetsk, Penza Oblast, the Russian SFSR, the Soviet Union.
• In 1990 - graduated from the Tambov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.
• In 2004 – graduated from the Russian Customs Academy.
• By the order of the President of Russia of October 25, 2018, was awarded the rank of Major General of the Customs Service. 

Professional career

• In 1995 – started job at the Customs Service as an inspector and has been working in the customs system since then.
• 2011-2013 – the Head at the Arkhangelsk Customs. He took office on July 6, 2011. Prior to that, was the Head of the Moscow Railway Customs Post of the Moscow Customs.
• 2013-2015 – the Head of the Northeast Customs Service. He took office on December 26, 2013. Prior to that, was the Acting Head of the Service from August 7 to November 6. It is noteworthy, that Kozlov held the rank of Colonel at the time of his appointment, while his predecessors were Generals.
• From May 18, 2015 – the Acting Head of the Siberian Customs Service. Held the post for five years.
• In early June 2020, Kozlov was appointed the Representative of the Customs Service of the Russian Federation in Abkhazia. He replaced Sergey Ivanov. Kozlov is also an Counselor to the diplomatic mission of the de facto Russian embassy. The Representation of the Customs Service of the Russian Federation in Abkhazia has been functioning since 2009.

Relations with Abkhazia

• On June 19, 2020, the newly appointed Kozlov met with the Head of the de facto State Customs Committee of Abkhazia. Results of bilateral cooperation were summarized and issues of future cooperation were discussed at the meeting.
• June 23, 2020, Kozlov met with representatives of the Sochi Customs Service. The issues of relations between the Customs Services of Russia and the de facto republic of Abkhazia, as well as other problems were discussed at the meeting.
• On August 3, 2020, the de facto Prime Minister of Abkhazia, Aleksander Ankvab, met with Kozlov. The issues of cooperation between customs services, harmonization of customs legislation and development of economic ties were discussed at the meeting. Establishment of a specialized Russian customs office in Gulrifshi district was also discussed at the meeting.
• On December 22, 2020, the de facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, inspected checkpoints on the de facto border between Abkhazia and Russia. Bzhania familiarized himself with the process of cargo clearance and "border" control during the citrus season. Representatives of the Abkhazian and Russian sides also took part in the inspection, including Kozlov.
• On February 1, 2021, in Sochi, Kozlov met with the Head of the Customs Service of the Krasnodar Krai of the Russian Federation, Natalia Polosukhina. From the Abkhaz side the meeting was also attended by the so-called Head of the Specialized Customs Post of Abkhazia, Konstantin Balashev. The meeting focused on the cooperation in the field of exporting goods from Abkhazia to Russia, as well as issues of accelerating and controlling the process of goods registration.
• On March 10, 2021, a meeting between Kozlov and the Head of the Customs Service of the Krasnodar Krai, Natalia Polosukhina, was held in Sochi. The meeting was also attended by the management of the Adler customs checkpoint of Krasnodar. The main topic of discussion was customs control of goods and vehicles crossing the customs border. The meeting focused on the optimization of customs operations and customs technologies. The parties also discussed the suppression of smuggling, including tobacco smuggling.
• On April 27, 2021, the de facto State Customs Committee of Abkhazia discussed the simplification of strawberry export to Russia. The meeting was attended by Kozlov, who noted that the preliminary declaration would prevent the overload at the “border” point and said that the Russian side was ready to implement a new procedure.
• On May 21, 2021, a working meeting was held at the Adler customs checkpoint with the participation of representatives of the Krasnodar Customs Service, the Abkhazian Customs Posts, the Customs Committee of Abkhazia, the Border Directorate of the Russian Federal Security Service, the Border Guard Detachment of the Security Service of Abkhazia and the Abkhazian Ministry of Tourism. Kozlov participated in the meeting as well. The meeting focused on the preparations for the 2021 summer season, in terms of unloading customs checkpoint.
• On October 20, 2021, in Sochi, a meeting was held with the participation of the Head of the Krasnodar Customs Service, Natalia Polosukhina, representatives of the de facto Customs Committee of Abkhazia and Kozlov. The meeting summed up the work done during the 2021 holiday season and discussed issues related to the upcoming agro season.
• On January 31, 2023, de facto Prime Minister, Alexander Ankvab, met with Kozlov. The meeting discussed the issues of development of bilateral cooperation. The importance of the so-called border customs points for the development of relations between the de facto republic and Russia was also highlighted.
• On May 2, 2023, a working meeting of the Customs Services of Russia and the de facto republic was held in the Adler customs building in Sochi, Russia. Kozlov also participated in the meeting. The meeting discussed topical issues related to preparations for the holiday season.
• On October 9, 2023, the de facto Minister of Internal Affairs of Abkhazia, Robert Kiut, met with the Deputy Head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia, Oleg Gubaidulin. At the meeting, the parties discussed the issues of identifying vehicles that are wanted, illegal import and export of weapons, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, undeclared tobacco products. Kozlov also attended the meeting.
• On October 31, 2023, in Sokhumi, representatives of the Russian Federal Customs Service and the State Customs Committee of Abkhazia held a meeting. The parties discussed the issues of improving customs operations in relation to agricultural products, organizing electronic information exchange, and summarizing the results of the activities of customs services during the 2023 holiday season. Kozlov also attended the meeting.