Minnikhanov announced the appointment during his annual address to the republic's State Council. He said a separate structural unit on support for participants of the "special military operation" and their families would be created within the government, to be headed by the retired colonel general.
Lapin has served in various years as chief of staff of the Russian force grouping in Syria and as commander of the "Center" and "North" groupings. In spring 2024, the "North" grouping launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region that did not achieve the objectives stated by the Russian command. In August 2025, the Defense Ministry confirmed that Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov had replaced Lapin in that post, and in September he was dismissed from military service.
In autumn 2022, after Russian troops retreated from Lyman, Lapin was publicly criticized by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who accused him of losing the city and demanded he be demoted to private. The general later returned to senior command posts and headed the Leningrad Military District.
In June, a court in Ukraine sentenced Lapin in absentia to life imprisonment on charges of encroaching on Ukraine's territorial integrity and inviolability, and of preparing and waging an aggressive war. According to the investigation, the general commanded Russian troops advancing from the territory of Belarus and Russia toward the Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions and Kyiv. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said Lapin "directly organized the invasion, planned and coordinated the actions of subordinate units, gave orders and ensured the continuation of hostilities."
Before his dismissal, the general was referred to by Tatarstan authorities as an aide to the head of the republic. The Insider wrote that Lapin was planned to be transferred to civilian service in Minnikhanov's administration, where he was to handle matters of war, defense and veterans.
As media reported, Lapin personally decorated his son Denis, commander of the 1st Guards Tank Regiment, which took part in the offensive on Chernihiv and Sumy. From intercepted communications published by Ukrainian intelligence, it followed that the unit suffered serious losses. It was also reported that in October 2022, Lapin put a pistol to the head of a mobilized soldier, trying to force him to return to the front line.