Viktor Zolotov
Viktor Zolotov | |
|---|---|
Виктор Золотов | |
Zolotov in 2023 | |
| Director of the National Guard of Russia | |
| Assumed office 5 April 2016 | |
| President | Vladimir Putin |
| Preceded by | Position established (himself as Commander-in-Chief of the Internal Troops of Russia) |
| Commander-in-Chief of the Internal Troops of Russia | |
| In office 12 May 2014 – 5 April 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Nikolay Rogozhkin |
| Succeeded by | Position disestablished (himself as Director of the National Guard of Russia) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 January 1954 Sasovo, Ryazan Oblast, Soviet Union |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
|
| Branch/service | KGB Border Guard Federal Protective Service Internal Troops of Russia National Guard of Russia |
| Years of service | 1975–present |
| Rank | General of the Army |
Viktor Vasilyevich Zolotov (Russian: Виктор Васильевич Золотов; born 27 January 1954) is a Russian military officer who is the Director of the National Guard (Rosgvardiya, concurrently serving as National Guard Forces Commander-in-Chief) and a member of the Security Council. Zolotov is a former bodyguard to former President Boris Yeltsin, former St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak, and current Russian leader Vladimir Putin. While working for Sobchak, Zolotov became acquainted with Putin, as well as figures in the St. Petersburg criminal underworld. A member of Putin's siloviki inner circle, Zolotov's rise to power and wealth happened after he became a close Putin confidant. The Zolotov family has obtained valuable land plots through dubious means.