About Vladimir Kononov (Donetsk People's Republic)
Vladimir Petrovich Kononov (Russian: ?????´??? ?????´??? ??´?????; born October 14, 1974; nom de guerre Tsar) was the defence minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, serving from August 15, 2014 after the resignation of Igor Girkin (also known as Igor Strelkov) until October 1, 2018.Kononov is a Donetsk local.
In 2014, he was a lieutenant colonel, and by 2015 was promoted to major general.