Colonel General Alexander Lapin, a controversial Russian military commander dismissed from service last year following battlefield setbacks in Ukraine, has been appointed deputy prime minister of the republic of Tatarstan, officials said Monday, where he will oversee regional policy supporting war veterans and their families.
Rustam Minnikhanov, the head of Tatarstan, announced Lapin’s appointment to the newly created post of Tatarstan’s deputy prime minister during his annual address to the regional legislature.
“A fighter’s greatest support is a strong home front. It’s vital that each one feels confident their future is securely protected by the state,” Minnikhanov said.
Lapin previously served as one of Minnikhanov’s aides overseeing troop recruitment and rehabilitation. He will now lead a regional initiative to reintegrate returning soldiers into civilian life through structured job placement, medical checkups and weekly support meetings.
The ex-commander took up the regional cabinet position despite running on the ruling United Russia party ticket during this month’s State Duma elections.
Before his dismissal in 2025, Lapin commanded Russia’s Central Military District and led major military formations in the war against Ukraine. His service was marked by significant defeats, including the collapse of the Russian front line during Ukraine’s 2022 counteroffensive and the cross-border incursion into the Kursk region in August 2024.
Those failures made Lapin a target for intense criticism among pro-war figures and officials, including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late founder of the Wagner mercenary group.
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