Activities as Minister of Defense

In the run-up to the 2015 Minsk Victory Day Parade, Ravkov ordered the changing of the open top inspection vehicle used on Victors Avenue from the traditional ZIL-41044 to the Hongqi L5, which is an official state car in China.^[3] In 2017, after the death of a conscript soldier Alexander Korzhich due to repeated hazing, he reaffirmed his support in the conscription system while conceding that it needed changes due to the lack of recruits. In late September 2017, Ravkov presided over the Zapad 2017 exercise with Russia. He announced in November 2018 that the national defence plan for 2019 will be adjusted to come in line with the most recent military doctrine.^[4]

In June 2019, he announced the entry of a bill in the House of Representatives, the largest of its provisions being a mechanism that institutes mandatory military service. In the substantiation of the law's draft, authored by Ravkov, the need to for this is justified by the fact that the chairmen of local executive authorities and their deputies head their own territorial defense zones. On 28 June 2019, the House of Representatives passed this bill in second reading. After the law enters into force, eligible graduates of higher educational institutions such as Belarusian State University are required to engage in military service immediately and will not be able to continue their postgraduate studies.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} He was dismissed in January 2020, succeeding Stanislav Zas as Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus.^[10]

Security Council chief

He was dismissed on 3 September 2020, being succeeded by the Chairman of the KGB, Valery Vakulchik.^[11]

Post-military

On 19 November, he was appointed as the Ambassador to Azerbaijan.^[12] On 16 February 2021, he presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.^[13][14]

International sanctions

In August 2020, Ravkov was put under sanctions by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania over his role in suppressing the 2020 Belarusian protests.^[15][16] On 6 November 2020, he was sanctioned by the European Union,^[17] the United Kingdom,^[18] and Canada.^[19] On 24 November, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania aligned themselves with the November EU sanctions against 15 Belarusian individuals,^[20] while Switzerland did the same on 11 December.^[21]