valery grigorievich asapov (; 1 january 1966 – 23 september 2017) was a russian lieutenant general in the russian military. asapov has been described as one of the senior russian military advisers in syria. asapov, then commander of an army motorised rifle brigade, was awarded the 4th class of the order "for merit to the fatherland" by president vladimir putin on 23 february 2013.