General Nikolai Makarov
Chief of the General Staff

On 03 June 2008 Russia's new President Dmitry Medvedev made personnel changes in the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces. Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Makarov was appointed Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The rotation of the General Staff personnel was conducted using the pattern, which was already tested – Baluyevsky was replaced by a fellow career officer, who passed all stages of “career ladder” – General of the Army Nikolai Makarov. Thus, “the generals’ opposition” lost the opportunity to declare that the “alien” got to power in the “brain trust” of the army.

Nikolay Makarov was born on Oct. 7, 1949 in the village of Glebovo of the Ryazan Region. In 1971 he graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined-Arms Command School (with gold medal). He commanded platoon, company, battalion of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In 1979 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Served in the Transbaikal Military District as chief of staff he was deputy regiment commander, regiment commander, chief of staff, and deputy division commander, commander of motorized infantry division.

In 1993 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces (with gold medal). In 1993-1998 – Chief of Staff of the Joint Russian Troops in Tajikistan, Chief of Staff – First Deputy Commander of Separate Army, Army Commander in the Volga Military District. In 1998-1999 – Commander of the Land and Coastal Troops / Deputy Commander of the Baltic Fleet on the Land and Coastal Troops.

In 1999-2002 he was Chief of Staff / First Deputy Commander of the Moscow Military District. In 2002-2007 he was Commander of the Siberian Military District. In 2007-2008 he was Chief of the Armaments of the RF Armed Forces / Deputy Minister of Defence of the RF.

Since June 2008 he was Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces / First Deputy Minister of Defence of the RF. He ws decorated with Orders of St. George II degree, «For Military Merits», «For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces» III degree, and Honoured Military Specialist of the Russian Federation.

In November 2012 Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov applied for resignation, Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta paper reported, and Newly-appointed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has already approved his resignation. Russian President and Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin is now to finalize the procedure. Gen. Makarov hadn’t explained the reasons behind his decision. After he stepped down, the Russian military will name the new chief of general staff and the first deputy defense minister.

On 09 November 2012 President Vladimir Putin sacked chief of the armed forces General Staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, and appointed Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov to replace him. Gerasimov’s promotion followed the appointment of Sergei Shoigu to head the Defense Ministry, replacing Anatoly Serdyukov, who was dismissed from the top job amid an investigation into nearly $100 million in fraudulent transactions involving real estate owned by Oboronservis, a company controlled by the ministry. Shoigu proposed Gerasimov for chief of the General Staff and Putin approved the appointment. Gerasimov had been the commander of forces in the Central Military District, a post he took up in April 2012.