Shamanov was removed from duty in January 2000 for "health reasons",[citation needed] and for a period he served as a civilian politician, becoming the elected governor (2001–2004) of the Ulyanovsk Oblast region of the Russian Federation.

[citation needed] Although Shamanov supported the programme, he cancelled all cuts and changes in the VDV and announced reinforcement for the airborne troops.

[10] Shamanov has an image of an "over-the-top" ruthless man among the other Russian military leaders, with certain insurgency-related sources calling him the "Butcher of Chechnya.

"[14] In December 1999 Shamanov was awarded his second Hero of the Russian Federation medal for actions around the village of Alkhan-Yurt earlier that month.

[16] In a Novaya Gazeta interview published in June 2000, Shamanov eventually admitted there have been numerous cases of looting by the Russian military in Chechnya,[17] but he also said he viewed his image as a "cruel general" as a compliment and that he believed the wives and children of rebel fighters to also be "bandits" who needed to be "destroyed".

In the 2004 The Washington Post interview, Shamanov rejected the allegations as "fairy tales" and suggested that human rights groups had planted the bodies in Alkhan-Yurt and "fabricated" a slaughter.

Budanov, Shamanov trumpeted, was one of his "best commanders" and offered this challenge: "Don't put your paws on the image of a Russian soldier and officer.

On September 21, 2004, Shamanov, now the Ulyanovsk regional governor, backed a pardon for Budanov, sparking anger in Chechnya even among the pro-Moscow locals.

[20] In March 2007 Shamanov met in the White House with the U.S. President George W. Bush, which was criticised by human rights groups.

[25] In September 2010, MOD Serdyukov helped Shamanov out of a scandal when he tried to order a detachment from the VDV's 45th Independent Reconnaissance Regiment to detain an investigator looking into the business of his son-in-law Anatoly "Glyba" Khramushin, a well-known criminal figure.