1. Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov was born on 8 September 1955 and is a Russian army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defence.
25 Facts About Valery Gerasimov
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Valery Gerasimov was appointed by president Vladimir Putin on 9 November 2012, replacing Nikolai Makarov, and currently serves as the commander of all Russian forces in Ukraine.
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Valery Gerasimov is considered one of the most powerful men in Russia, and one of three people to hold access to Russia's nuclear weapons, alongside Putin and Defense Minister Andrey Belousov.
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Valery Gerasimov is reportedly the one who conceived the Gerasimov Doctrine.
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Valery Gerasimov was born in a working-class family in Kazan, Tatar ASSR on 8 September 1955.
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Interested in the army from a young age, Valery Gerasimov grew up on the stories of his veteran uncle, a former tank company commander, and avidly read the books of Konstantin Simonov.
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Nonetheless, Valery Gerasimov entered the military school as soon as he was able to four years later in 1971.
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Valery Gerasimov rose to tank company commander and tank battalion chief of staff before being transferred to the 5th Combined Arms Army of the Far Eastern Military District in 1982.
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Valery Gerasimov served there as chief of staff of a tank battalion of the 185th Tank Regiment of the 29th Motor Rifle Division, and was promoted to command the tank battalion of the 231st Motor Rifle Regiment of the 40th Motor Rifle Division.
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Valery Gerasimov was admitted to the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy in 1984 for advanced officer training.
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Valery Gerasimov took part in the Second Chechen War in this post, and when Shamanov left to begin his political career acted as army commander from late 2000.
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Valery Gerasimov was confirmed in this position in February 2001 and remained in command until March 2003.
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Valery Gerasimov was promoted to chief of staff of the Far Eastern Military District in March 2003, and was appointed chief of the Main Combat Training and Service Directorate of the General Staff in April 2005.
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Valery Gerasimov was transferred to command the Moscow Military District in 2009 and on 23 December 2010 appointed deputy chief of the General Staff.
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Valery Gerasimov briefly commanded the Central Military District between April and November 2012.
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Valery Gerasimov commanded the annual Victory Day Parade on Red Square four times from 2009 to 2012.
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Valery Gerasimov was appointed Chief of the General Staff following the dismissal of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on 6 November 2012.
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Valery Gerasimov was promoted to the highest rank in the Russian Army, General of the Army, as of 2014.
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On 9 December 2021, Valery Gerasimov issued a warning to the Ukrainian government against attempting to settle the war in Donbas using force.
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In 2021, Valery Gerasimov explained his doctrine to the Financial Times.
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On 11 February 2022, Valery Gerasimov met with Tony Radakin and denied that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine.
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Valery Gerasimov was involved in the planning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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On 27 April 2022, Ukrainian publication Defense Express claimed that Valery Gerasimov arrived in Izium to personally command the Russian offensive in the region.
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In July 2023, Major General Ivan Popov claimed that Valery Gerasimov dismissed him because of his concerns about troops fighting without rest and criticism of Russian battlefield strategy.
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On 7 August 2024, Valery Gerasimov told Putin that about 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers took part in the attack and that their advance in the Kursk Oblast had been halted.