Leonid Khabarov
Russian military personnel
Леонид Васильевич Хабаров
- Born
- 8 May 1947, Shadrinsk
- Citizenship
- Russia, Soviet Union
- Sport
- boxing
- Occupation
- boxer, pedagogue, university teacher, military personnel
Leonid Khabarov (Russian: Леони́д Васи́льевич Хаба́ров, IPA: [lʲɪɐˈnʲit xɐˈbarəf]; born May 8, 1947) is a former Soviet military officer whose battalion was the first Soviet Army unit to cross the border into the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan on December 25, 1979, marking the de facto beginning of the decade-long Soviet–Afghan War.
After a distinguished military and academic career, in 2011 Khabarov received widespread media attention after he was arrested on charges of fomenting a coup d'état while serving as a Russian Reserve Officer Training (ROT) chief. He was accused of attempting to illegally purchase weapons as part of a master plot to overthrow local authorities in the Ural region of Russia and launch a nationwide rebellion.
The sessions of Khabarov's trial were routinely rescheduled, but on February 26, 2013 the Sverdlovsk Regional Court sentenced him to 4+1⁄2 years in prison, despite nationwide protest. He appealed to the Supreme Court of Russia, but his case was rejected. On July 2, 2014 he was released on parole.
Awards and honours
- Badge "To a Warrior-Internationalist"
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Honoured Worker of Higher Professional Education of the Russian Federation
- Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Medal "Army General Margelov"
- Medal "For Distinction in Military Service"
- Medal "For Distinction in Military Service", 1st class
- Medal "For Distinction in Military Service", 2nd class
- Medal "For Impeccable Service"
- Medal "For Impeccable Service", 1st class
- Medal "For Impeccable Service", 2nd class
- Medal "For Impeccable Service", 3rd class
- Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms"
- Medal "To a Warrior-Internationalist from the Grateful Afghan People"
- Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Order of Military Merit
- Order of the Red Banner
- Soi︠u︡z veteranov Afganistana
- Soviet Guards Badge
- Wound stripe
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q467564 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.