Kazakhstan's Defense Minister has taken on an additional role.

It is noted that Ruslan Jaksilykov is a Master of Sports of the USSR in judo, a multiple champion, and a prizewinner of national and international competitions in sambo and judo.

"I express my gratitude to the members of the federation for their productive work and the trust placed in me. We plan to integrate sports and combat sambo into the training system for personnel in military and law enforcement activities. We have significant work ahead of us to develop this sport on a large scale, including as a military-applied discipline," said the head of the Ministry of Defense.

He also outlined the action plan for the near future.

"In 2025, sambo will be included in the program of the Military Sports Games of friendly armies of the CIS member states and in the Spartakiad of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A series of events is planned to promote military-patriotic education among youth, and an open national tournament in sambo for the Minister of Defense of the RK Cup will take place. Plans include the establishment of a sambo department at the Almaty Military Sports College named after Bauyrzhan Momyshuly, prioritizing children from large families, military personnel, and rural youth. To promote mass development, we will invite combat sambo instructors to the Armed Forces," shared the federation president.

Currently, more than forty thousand people are engaged in over 1100 sambo sections.

The federation, which is part of the international sambo federation, will make every effort to promote the mass development of sports and combat sambo and to enhance the performance of Kazakhstani sambo wrestlers in international competitions.

According to the Ministry of Defense's website, Ruslan Jaksilykov was born on March 4, 1966, in the city of Kaskelen, Almaty region. He graduated from the Almaty Higher Combined Arms Command School named after I.S. Konev (1987). He also attended the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze (1996) and the Higher Academic Courses of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (2004).

He holds a PhD in Pedagogical Sciences.

From 1987 to 2006, he served in various positions, from platoon commander to commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.

From 2006 to 2007, he served as the Deputy Commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.

From 2007 to 2008, he was the First Deputy Commander of the Internal Troops and the Chief of the Main Staff of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RK.

In 2008, Jaksilykov became the Commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RK. Since January 2013, he has been the Commander-in-Chief of the Internal Troops of the RK.

Since April 2014, he has served as the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From September 2021 to January 2022, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs – Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard of Kazakhstan.

In January 2022, Jaksilykov was appointed as the Minister of Defense of the RK. He was also reappointed to this position in April of last year.

In February of this year, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, reappointed Ruslan Jaksilykov as the Minister of Defense of the RK.