Valery Gerasimov

Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov (Russian: Вале́рий Васи́льевич Гера́симов, IPA: [vɐˈlʲerʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ ɡʲɪˈrasʲɪməf]; born 8 September 1955) is a Russian army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defence.

Not to be confused with Vitaly Gerasimov.
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Vasilyevich and the family name is Gerasimov.

Hero of the Russian Federation
Valery Gerasimov
Валерий Герасимов
Official portrait, 2017
Chief of the General Staff
Assumed office
9 November 2012
PresidentVladimir Putin
DeputyNikolay Bogdanovsky
Preceded byNikolay Makarov
Deputy Chief of the General Staff
In office
23 December 2010 – 9 November 2012
ChiefNikolay Makarov
Preceded byAlexander Burutin
Succeeded byNikolay Bogdanovsky
Commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the Special Military Operation zone
Assumed office
11 January 2023
DeputySergey Surovikin
Oleg Salyukov
Alexei Kim
Preceded bySergey Surovikin
Personal details
Born
Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov

(1955-09-08) 8 September 1955
Kazan, Tatar ASSR, Soviet Union
Alma materGeneral Staff Academy
ProfessionSoldier
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service
Years of service1976–present
RankGeneral of the Army[1]
Commands
Battles/wars
Awards

He was appointed by president Vladimir Putin on 9 November 2012 replacing Nikolay Makarov,[4][5][6] and currently serves as the commander of all Russian forces in Ukraine.

Early life and education

Gerasimov was born in Kazan, Tatar ASSR on 8 September 1955. He graduated from the Kazan Suvorov Military School (1971–1973), the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy (1984–1987), and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1995–1997).[6]

Commands

After graduating from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, Gerasimov was the commander of a Mechanized Infantry platoon, company and battalion of the Far Eastern Military District. Later he was chief of staff of a Tank regiment and then of a motorized rifle division in the Baltic Military District.[6] From 1993 to 1995 he was the commander of the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division in the Baltic Military District and then the North Western Group of Forces.[6][7]

After he graduated from the General Staff Academy, he was the First Deputy Army Commander of the Moscow Military District. He was the commander of the 58th Army in the North Caucasus Military District during the Second Chechen War between February 2001 and March 2003.[6] His involvement in the arrest of Yury Budanov led to praise from journalist Anna Politkovskaya.[5][6]

In 2006 he became the commander of Leningrad Military District. In 2009 he moved to be the commander of Moscow Military District. In 2012 he became the commander of the Central Military District. On 23 December 2010 he became the deputy Chief of the General Staff.[6]

He commanded the annual Victory Day Parade on Red Square four times from 2009 to 2012.[5]

Chief of the General Staff

Gerasimov was alleged to have conceived the "Gerasimov doctrine" – combining military, technological, information, diplomatic, economic, cultural and other tactics for the purpose of achieving strategic goals.[8] The author of the original paper, Mark Galeotti, claimed it was a speech which, due to translation errors, was misinterpreted in the American press as a belligerent, rather than defensive strategic proposal.[9][10][11]

Gerasimov with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, 9 November 2012
General Gerasimov leading a Victory Day parade in Moscow in a ZiL 41044, May 2011

Staff appointment up to Crimea (2012–2020)

Gerasimov was appointed Chief of General Staff following the dismissal of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on 6 November 2012. The previous Chief of General Staff, Army General Nikolay Makarov, was seen as close to Serduykov and was seen by commentators as likely to be replaced by new Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. It has been reported that Makarov resigned, but he was formally dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.[4][12][13][14]

Other changes were the dismissal of Alexander Sukhorukov from the position of First Deputy Defence Minister and his replacement by Colonel General Arkady Bakhin, formerly commander of the Western Military District. Aerospace Defence Forces commander Colonel General Oleg Ostapenko was also promoted to Deputy Defence Minister. He was promoted to the highest rank in the Russian Army, General of the Army, as of 2014.[4][12][13][14]

Gerasimov (right), Joseph Dunford (left) and Hulusi Akar (middle) at a meeting to discuss their nations’ operations in northern Syria, 6 March 2017
Russian, Chinese and Mongolian troops and military equipment parade during the Vostok 2018 military exercises.
Gerasimov and Mongolia's Chief of General Staff Ayushiin Ganbat, 16 August 2019
Gerasimov with Shoigu, Putin and Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov at the Center-2019 military exercise

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Gerasimov was the general commander of all elements of Russian forces and the pro-Russian insurgents during their decisive strategic victory in the Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014, where over 459 Ukrainian military personnel were killed and another 478 were injured.[15] On 15 September 2016, he and Turkish chief of staff General Hulusi Akar conducted a meeting on the future of Syria in the Ankara headquarters of the Turkish Armed Forces.

As reported in her book on Gerasimov regarding his 2019 involvement with Syria, Anna Borshchevskaya wrote:

By March 2019, Valeriy Gerasimov announced that Moscow had been pursuing a strategy of 'limited action' in Syria, and one that it hopes will guide future military action.[16] By that point it was a description of actions that had already taken place in the previous years, and more to the point, this strategy reflected a return to Soviet and tsarist methods of 'limited wars'".[17][18]

Prelude to 2022 invasion of Ukraine to present (2021–present)

On 9 December 2021, Gerasimov issued a warning to the Ukrainian government against attempting to settle the war in Donbas using force.[19] Gerasimov said that "information about Russia's alleged impending invasion of Ukraine is a lie."[20] According to Gerasimov, "Kyiv is not fulfilling the Minsk Agreements. The Ukrainian armed forces are touting that they have started to employ US-supplied Javelin anti-tank missile systems in Donbass and are also using Turkish reconnaissance/strike drones. As a result, the already tense situation in the east of that country is further deteriorating."[21]

In 2021 Gerasimov explained his doctrine to the Financial Times.[22] On 23 December 2021, he discussed regional security issues with his British counterpart Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff.[23]

On 11 February 2022, Gerasimov met with Tony Radakin and denied that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine.[24]

Gerasimov with UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Admiral Tony Radakin in Moscow on 11 February 2022

Gerasimov was involved in the planning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[25][26] The sources say the decision to invade Ukraine was made by Vladimir Putin and a small group of war hawks around him, including Gerasimov, Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin's national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev.[27] During the invasion, The Moscow Times considered Gerasimov to have disappeared from public view since around 12 March 2022, when he talked with the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, and 4 March, when he talked with French Chief of the Defence Staff Thierry Burkhard. Other senior siloviki (key Russian security officials), including Sergei Shoigu, Igor Kostyukov and Alexander Bortnikov, disappeared around the same time.[28]

On 27 April 2022, Ukrainian publication Defense Express claimed that Gerasimov arrived in Izium to personally command the Russian offensive in the region.[29] According to the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency, Gerasimov was wounded on 1 May 2022 near Izium.[30][31] Two US officials confirmed Gerasimov had been in the region but a Ukrainian official denied Ukraine was specifically targeting Gerasimov and said that when the command post was attacked, Gerasimov had already set off to return to Russia.[32] The US reportedly prevented Ukraine from killing Gerasimov.[33]

Gerasimov discussed security issues with American counterpart General Mark Milley in a phone call on 19 May.[34]

On 11 January 2023, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Gerasimov in place of Sergey Surovikin as overall commander of war against Ukraine. Surovikin will serve as Gerasimov's deputy.[35] His first notable battle order in the Ukrainian theatre was to deploy the Black Sea Fleet out of Port of Novorossiysk for parts unknown on 11 January.[36]

Putin, Shoigu and Gerasimov at the Vostok-2022 military exercise in the Russian Far East on 6 September 2022

American military analyst Michael Kofman said that Gerasimov is "exhausting the force with an ill-timed, feckless set of offensive operations, whose gains will not change the strategic picture for Russia, but could leave Russian forces more vulnerable."[37]

Honours

Russian

Foreign

Personal life

Gerasimov is married and has a son.[40]

Sanctions

Sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War. [41]

In April 2014, Gerasimov was added to the list of persons against whom the European Union introduced sanctions "in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine".[42] In May 2014, Canada, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland added Gerasimov to their sanctions listed because of Russian interference in Ukraine and his responsibility for the massive Russian troop deployment next to the Russia–Ukraine border and his inability to reduce the tensions with Ukraine which are associated with these Russian troop deployments.[43] In September 2014, Australia placed Gerasimov on their Ukraine related sanctions list.[43]

On 25 February 2022, the United States added Gerasimov to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[44]

References
  1. Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 20 февраля 2013 года № 151 "О присвоении воинских званий высших офицеров военнослужащим Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации" [Presidential Decree of 20 February 2013 No. 151 "On conferring military rank of senior officers of the armed forces] (in Russian). Kremlin.ru. 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  2. "Russian Army General Staff Chief Gerasimov, ten Russian military servicemen suspected of involvement in Ilovaisk tragedy - SBU". Kyiv Post. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  3. Gerasimova, Tanya (28 April 2022). "Russian Chief of General Staff Gerasimov Arrives in Kharkiv Region to Personally Command Offensive". Ukrainian News. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  4. "New appointments at Defence Ministry". Kremlin.ru. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  5. "Profile: Russia's new military chief Valery Gerasimov". BBC News. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  6. "Valeriy Gerasimov". Russian Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  7. "Командир смоленской дивизии возглавил генштаб армии России". 9 November 2012.
  8. "The 'Gerasimov Doctrine' and Russian Non-Linear War". kcl.rl.talis.com. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  9. Gerasimov, Valery (2013), The value of science in prediction, vol. 27, Military-Industrial Kurier (English translation)
  10. Galeotti, Mark (2018). "The mythical 'Gerasimov Doctrine' and the language of threat". Critical Studies on Security. 7 (2): 157–161. doi:10.1080/21624887.2018.1441623. S2CID 159811828.
  11. "I'm Sorry for Creating the 'Gerasimov Doctrine'". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  12. Gorenburg, Dmitry (6 November 2012). "The firing of Anatoly Serdyukov". Russian Military Reform. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  13. "Personnel changes at Defence Ministry". Kremlin.ru. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  14. "Putin Appoints New Chief of General Staff". RIA Novosti. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  15. "Russian Army General Staff Chief Gerasimov, ten Russian military servicemen suspected of involvement in Ilovaisk tragedy - SBU". Kyiv Post. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  16. Roger McDermott, "Gerasimov Unveils Russia's 'Strategy of Limited Actions,'" Eurasia Daily Monitor 16, No. 31, Jamestown Foundation, March 6, 2019.
  17. Glen E. Howard and Matthew Czekaj, eds., Inroduction of Russia's Military Strategy and Doctrine (Washington DC::Jamestown Foundation, 2019), pp. xiv-xv.
  18. Anna Borshchevskaya. Putin's War in Syria. IB Taurus Press. 2022.
  19. "Russia warns Kyiv against use of force in rebel regions". The Independent. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  20. "Russia denies it plans to attack Ukraine". Anadolu Agency. 9 December 2021.
  21. "Moscow to thwart any provocations by Kiev in Donbass, Russian military chief warns". Tass. 9 December 2021.
  22. "Valery Gerasimov, the general with a doctrine for Russia". THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD.
  23. "Heads of Russian, UK armed forces discuss global security in phone call -TASS". Reuters. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  24. "Britain's most recent defence attaché in Moscow on the failings of Valery Gerasimov". The Economist. 5 March 2023.
  25. Seibt, Sébastian (4 March 2022). "Shoigu and Gerasimov: Masters of Putin's wars". France 24. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  26. Kirby, Paul (3 March 2022). "Ukraine conflict: Who's in Putin's inner circle and running the war?". BBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  27. "Kremlin Insiders Alarmed Over Growing Toll of Putin's War in Ukraine". Bloomberg. 20 March 2022.
  28. "Not only Shoigu disappeared from public view, but other key security officials did too – Zolotov, Bortnikov and Kostyukov" [Из публичного пространства пропал не только Шойгу, но и другие ключевые силовики – Золотов, Бортников и Костюков]. The Moscow Times (in Russian). 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  29. Gerasimova, Tanya (28 April 2022). "Russian Chief of General Staff Gerasimov Arrives in Kharkiv Region to Personally Command Offensive". Ukrainian News. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  30. "Putin 9. Května nevyhlásí mobilizaci ani válku, tvrdí jeho mluvčí Peskov | Aktuálně.cz". 29 April 2022.
  31. "З'явилися суперечливі дані про поранення начальника Генштабу РФ Герасимова".
  32. Weber, Peter. "Ukraine says it destroyed Russia's Izyum command center, killing 200 but just missing Russia's top general". The Week. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  33. "US officials tried to stop Ukraine from killing high-ranking Russian general who was on a risky visit to the front lines, report says". Insider. 18 December 2022.
  34. "Начальник Генштаба Герасимов созвонился с главой Комитета объединенных штабов США". www.mk.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  35. "Russia appoints top soldier Gerasimov to oversee Ukraine campaign". Reuters. 11 January 2023.
  36. Sutton, H I (12 January 2023). "Sudden Surge In Russian Navy Ships And Submarines In Black Sea". Naval News.
  37. "Russia Takes Stock After Winter Offensive Fails to Deliver Gains". The Moscow Times. 9 April 2023.
  38. "Глава Генштаба ВС
    России награжден медалью минобороны Азербайджана - ФОТО"    . news.day.az. 7 April 2014.
  39. "Героев Сирии стало меньше". www.gazeta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  40. Валерий Васильевич Герасимов [Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov] (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  41. "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  42. "L_2014126EN.01004801.xml". eur-lex.europa.eu.
  43. "Bryan Cave Side by Side List of Ukraine Related Sanctions" (PDF). Bryan Cave. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  44. "Russia-related Designations".
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