Rovshan Akbarov

National Hero of Azerbaijan

Rovshan Akbarov
Born (1965-06-04) June 4, 1965 (age 59)
Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance Soviet Union
 Azerbaijan
Service / branchAzerbaijani Armed Forces
Years of service1982-2020
RankLieutenant General

Lieutenant General Rovshan Telman oghlu Akbarov (Azerbaijani: Rövşən Əkbərov Telman oğlu) is an Azerbaijani general and military leader.

Early life and career

He was born in Baku in 1965. From 1972 to 1979, he received his secondary education in secondary school No.42. In 1979, he entered the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum. In 1982 he entered the Kiev Higher Combined Arms Command School (now the Odesa Military Academy). After graduating, he went serve in the Soviet Army's Transcaucasian Military District, where he was appointed commander of a platoon in the 342th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 75th Motor Rifle Division in Nakhchivan.

In 1987, he was sent to serve in Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. In 1988, he returned to the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, where he became the head of a unit in the 409th Motorized Rifle Regiment.

Azerbaijani Army

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, he worked as an assistant to the military commissar of the Beylagan District, and later in various positions in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. From 1992 to 1993, he was deputy commander of the 777th Special Forces Regiment, later commanding the unit until 1997.[1] Akbarov was a participant in the suppression of the rebellion of the OPON unit under the leadership of Rovshan Javadov in March 1995. He was appointed Deputy Chief of the Personnel and Military Education Department of the Ministry in 1997, and in May 1998, he was appointed corps commander for the Baku Army Corps.[2] He was a student of the Baku Higher Naval School in 1999 and the Ukrainian Military Academy in 2002.[2] After returning from Ukraine, he was promoted to lieutenant general. He became the commander of the 3rd Shamkir Army Corps in 2011.[3][4][5][6][7]

Criticism

Akbarov was said to be a supporter of the embattled former Chief of the General Staff, Najmeddin Sadikov. Like Sadikov, he has been commonly accused of treason on social media, and particularly during the July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes.[8] There were also a number of rumours about Sadikov and Akbarov circulating on social media, claiming that they had collaborated with the Armenian Armed Forces and were responsible for non-combat deaths in the army.[9]

Retirement and arrest

Rovshan Akbarov and Ilham Aliyev at the corps

In February 2020, he was sent to the reserve along with Major General Khaghani Jabrayilov by order of the Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov.[10] A year later, Akbarov was arrested for allegedly killing businessman Elchin Aliyev in Ukraine.[11] He was arrested on 3 March in a criminal case investigated by the Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office.[12]

Awards and Titles

References

  1. ^ "О подвигах батальона «Три семерки» в Первой карабахской войне (1992-1994)". История Азербайджана (in Russian). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  2. ^ a b "Rövşən Əkbərov Telman oğlu". Ens.az - 4 dildə xəbərlər və ensiklopediya, ən son xəbərlər, en son xeberler (in Azerbaijani). 16 September 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  3. ^ "Акперов Ровшан Тельман оглы | Центр военно-политических исследований". eurasian-defence.ru. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  4. ^ Netservice.az. "General-leytenant Əkbərov - 50-ni haqladı - VİDEO". ATV.AZ (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  5. ^ "Rövşən Əkbərov Telman oğlu". Ens.az - 4 dildə xəbərlər və ensiklopediya (in Azerbaijani). 16 September 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  6. ^ "ƏKBƏROV RÖVŞƏN TELMAN OĞLU". VƏTƏN UĞRUNDA - Hərbi-Vətənpərvərlik Şurasının İnternet Orqanı (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  7. ^ "Акперов Ровшан Тельман оглы | Центр военно-политических исследований". eurasian-defence.ru. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  8. ^ "Azerbaijan national hero, lieutenant general arrested on 20-year-old murder charges | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  9. ^ "Azerbaijani 'hero general' arrested over 2001 murder". OC Media. 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  10. ^ "Generals Rovshan Akbarov and Khagani Jabrayilov transferred to reserve". ann.az. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  11. ^ APA.az (2021-03-16). "Became known what Azerbaijani Lieutenant-General Rovshan Akbarov accused of- OFFICIAL - UPDATED". apa.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  12. ^ "Azerbaijani general arrested for murder 20 years ago in Ukraine?". English Jamnews. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-27.