• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

General Valery Gerasimov
Chief of the General Staff

Hero of the Russian Federation Army General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, was shown in public on 10 July 2023 by the defence ministry. Gerasimov's two-week-long absence from public view had led to speculation of his removal by Putin following the Wagner rebellion. On 09 July 2023 Gerasimov was ousted as commander in Ukraine, less than six months after he was appointed, and replaced by Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy, commander of the Russian Airborne Forces. Teplinskiy is considered Gerasimov's opponent and one of the few relatively "popular" commanders in the Russian military.

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved 09 November 2012 the candidature of Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s Central Military District Armed Forces, as new chief of general staff. Gen. Gerasimov was suggested by Russia’s new Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu after Gen. Nikolai Makarov submitted his resignation. “I think the [defense] minister proposed a suitable candidature. I hope you will be working efficiently and at your full capacity,” President Putin said. Gerasimov had been the commander of forces in the Central Military District, a post he took up in April 2012.

Born on 8 September 1955 in the city of Kazan’, in 1977, he graduated from the Kazan’ Higher Tank Command School named after the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar ASSR (Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). He commanded platoon, company, battalion in the Northern Group of Troops and Far Eastern Military District.

After his graduation from the Military Academy of Armored Troops named after Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Ya. Malinovsky in 1987, he served as the chief of headquarters and commander of tank regiment, the chief of headquarters of a motorised rifle division in the Baltic Military District. From 1993 to 1995 — the commander of a motorised rifle division in the North-Western Group of Troops.

In 1997 after his graduation from the Military Academy of the RF Armed Forces’ General Staff, he served as the First Deputy Commander of Army in the Moscow Military District, the Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff and Commander of the 58th Army in the North Caucasian Military District. From 1998 to 2003 he served in the 58th Combined Arms Army of the North Caucasian Military District. At that time, this region was a continuous "hot spot". At first, Gerasimov headed the army headquarters, then became the commander. Subordinates always understood that for their commander the concept of "human life" is definitely not an empty phrase.

It is said that General Gerasimov showed an unconventional approach to planning military operations. For example, commanding troops in the Bamut (not to be confused with the Ukrainian Bakhmut) direction, he planned and conducted the operation so that his subordinates took Maly Bamut without a fight at all, which was a complete surprise for the militants. Gerasimov never allowed untrained fighters to be sent into battle, and when planning operations, there is no such thing as a “trifle” for him. He aroused respect among his subordinates not only as a professional commander, but simply as a person.

From 2003 to 2005 he was the Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Military District. From 2005 hes erved as the Chief of the Main Administration of Combat Training and Troops’ Service of the RF Armed Forces, and from December 2006 as the Chief of Staff of the North Caucasian Military District.

In December 2006, he was assigned as the Commander of the Leningrad Military District, and in February 2009 — as the Commander of the Moscow Military District. From December 2010 he was the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

A series of random checks in the Russian Armed Forces this week revealed a number of systemic shortcomings, General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov said on 22 February 2013. Combat alert checks were carried out in the Central and South Military Districts, the Airborne Assault Forces (VDV) and military transport aviation units. According Gerasimov, there are "serious shortcomings and problems that require urgent solutions." A number of systemic deficiencies in the state of combat readiness and the level of training of the personnel of the Armed Forces were revealed recently for the first time in the last 20 years by a surprise check of the combat readiness of individual units, in particular, in the troops of the Central and Southern military districts, the Airborne Forces and military transport aviation. “In almost all checked “organisms”, operational duty officers and duty officers in military units showed poor skills in communicating signals through automated combat control systems,” said the head of the Russian General Staff.

A serious concern is the large number of defective aircraft. “The overall percentage of aviation serviceability is 66%. The prompt solution of this issue of restoring and repairing the aviation fleet is the most important joint task of the relevant bodies of military command and industry,” said the Chief of the General Staff. He added that also during the check, the shortcomings of the airborne armored vehicles were clearly manifested. “BMD-2s are morally and physically obsolete, the age of the vehicles is 20-25 years, and sometimes more. The wear of the main components and assemblies does not allow the use of the combat capabilities of this type of equipment, for this reason, two BMD-2s went out of order during the march to the training ground, ”concluded General of the Army Valery Gerasimov.

Another serious problem is the insufficiently efficient operation of repair plants and industrial enterprises. “Often equipment that has undergone major or medium repairs and is under warranty service fails in the first months of its operation in combat units,” said the head of the General Staff. He also added that operational problems were also found in Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, Su-25 aircraft, Msta self-propelled artillery mounts, and R-168-5un radio stations. According to Valery Gerasimov, "the equipment developed by the Russian defense industry often does not fully meet the requirements of the military."

In 2013, Gerasimov published the text "The Value of Science in Foresight", in which he outlined the contours of future military conflicts. Then the world lives under the impression of “color revolutions”, and less than a year later another Maidan will take place, which will turn everything upside down. The theses voiced by the Chief of the General Staff turned out to be so resonant that abroad the article was immediately dubbed the “Gerasimov Doctrine”. Later, one of the analysts - Mark Galeotti - even apologized for creating a new term. Probably due to the fact that in the material the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces speaks mainly of a defensive strategy.

The vision of the Chief of the General Staff of the armed conflict from 2013 surprisingly coincides with the initial stage of the special operation in Ukraine. Among the main differences of a new type of war, Gerasimov singled out: the beginning of hostilities by a grouping of peacetime troops, the highly maneuverable nature of the offensive, the defeat of critical enemy targets in a short time, the massive use of high-precision weapons and special operations forces , as well as attacks on the enemy throughout the depth of his territory. An external observer will 100% identify by these signs the Russian "special operation" for "denazification and demilitarization".

It should be noted that the doctrine of a new war was successfully tested in 2014 on the example of the bloodless return of Crimea and, much later, the military-diplomatic settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov had two main and most striking military operations planned by him and his subordinates, which are recognized in the world as the standard of military art. This is the operation to return the Crimea and the Syrian campaign.

After the Crimean events of 2014, Vladimir Putin said that the decision on Crimea was made in a narrow circle of like-minded people. Two questions were discussed there: whether the population of Crimea is ready to support joining Russia at the referendum and whether the Armed Forces will be able to ensure the security of this referendum.

Another large-scale operation of the General Staff under the leadership of Gerasimov is the Syrian one. The first projection of Russian military power outside the country in post-Soviet history. According to editor-in-chief of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, retired colonel Viktor Murakhovsky, "the Syrian operation is, of course, a major success of the Russian General Staff, which Valery Gerasimov actually revived."

Measures taken by the Russian Defense Ministry to develop the Strategic Nuclear Forces and raise the capabilities of regular troops will prevent the United States or NATO's superiority over Russia, General Staff head Valery Gerasimov said 30 January 2015. "The Armed Forces' priority is the quality improvement of the Strategic Nuclear Forces," Gerasimov said. The statement comes after US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work's statement that the growth in Russia’s military spending and modernization over the past decade represented a challenge to the United States.

"This attitude toward keeping the Strategic Nuclear Forces in the condition of high combat readiness in combination with the quality improvement of the combat potential of the regular troops will prevent the military superiority of the United States and NATO over Russia," Gerasimov said. "This year, four missile regiments are planned to be established and equipped with modern missile complexes within the Strategic Missile Forces," he added. Gerasimov's statement echoes a pledge by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who reiterated earlier in the day that the Russian military will begin working on the task set by the president to guarantee military superiority upon completion of the state weapons program.

The number of local and regional armed conflicts is on the rise globally and general instability is spreading, Russian General Staff chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov asserted 08 October 2015. "The international situation is characterized by a higher level of instability and a rise in the number of armed conflicts, while international institutions' role in tackling them decreases," Gerasimov said at an international conference on Afghanistan.

The operation in Syria revealed a number of design and production shortcomings of Russian military equipment. This statement  was made by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu 21 October 2016. He explained that on a single day of acceptance of military products, the question of what measures are being taken to improve the reliability of the equipment used will be raised. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said that the operation in Syria revealed "certain problems", the elimination of which will allow "to correct further directions for the development and improvement of models of military equipment." Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov instructed "to take measures to correct the situation" by the end of the year.

The "pro-war bloggers" in Russia were very critical of Valery Gerasimov. They placed the bulk of the blame for Russian military failures on him, since the Russian Federation has been modernizing the army for 15 years, purchasing and developing the most modern weapons, and investing a lot of money (according to Russian concepts, although this budget still not comparable to the American one), but there are no results. Many expected, including even Russian adversaries in the West, that the Russian Federation in Ukraine would act as a "world military power"

When the situation began to develop especially badly for the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov was criticized by two of the most radical Russian figures: Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. They did not hesitate in expressions and exposed Gerasimov as a weakling who hides away from the front and destroys the Russian army. At the same time, neither Prigozhin nor Kadyrov mentioned Vladimir Putin.

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was placed personally in charge of the special operation 15 January 2023. This decision would allow Russia in the near future to change the course of the special operation to larger-scale active offensive operations, though this did not happen. When major reshuffles occur during an armed conflict, it means that not everything goes according to plan. This means that after a relatively short period, "General Armageddon", or rather Sergei Surovikin, who will become only one of the three deputies of the new commander-in-chief, is leaving the highest Russian military post in Ukraine.

Prigozhin and his mercenaries specifically recorded a video message to Gerasimov 27 December 2022 in order to force the General Staff of the Russian Federation to work. Two "Wagnerites" accused the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces in the absence of shells to continue the war against Ukraine. Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov has no doubt that by such actions "Putin's cook" once again wants to show inaction in the Russian Defense Ministry. The Russian army is really in dire need of shells, of which there are very few left in military warehouses in the Russian Federation. Prigozhin himself really wants to capture Bakhmut in order to show Putin and the entire Russian elite the importance of his PMC in the war against Ukraine.

After Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion and against the backdrop of Russia's failures at the front in Ukraine, on 10 July 2023 Vladimir Putin removed Valery Gerasimov, from command of Russian troops in Ukraine. Instead, it seems that Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky , commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, was entrusted with directing the theater of operations on the part of the Russian Federation. The Kremlin could have chosen the candidacy of Mikhail Teplinsky because of his great popularity among the Russian rank and file and the ultra-nationalist community of the Russian Federation. Teplinskiy had commanded the Russian forces in the Bakhmut area, which operated there together with units of the Wagner PMC. However, nothing is known about his wider support for the Wagnerites, although he gained fame as one of the most famous "anti-Gerasimov" commanders, in addition to Surovikin.

In a sense, Valery Gerasimov is a rather mysterious figure. At times, he did not appear in public for weeks and did not even attend the Victory Day parade in Moscow in 2022, which at the time sparked gossip about his position. Gerasimov is absolutely not a public person, despite such a high position. This person is not looking for fame, he doesn’t particularly like dialogues with journalists, although he doesn’t run away from them. Gerasimov is a man of action. After meeting with him, some visitors fom a lasting impression of a simple, almost peasant face and modesty of behavior as a good disguise for deep human wisdom and high intelligence.