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Chief of the General Staff
Начальник Генерального штаба (Russian)
Emblem of the general staff
Flag of the Chief of the General Staff
Incumbent Army General Valery Gerasimov since 9 November 2012
General Staff of the Armed Forces
Type	Chief of staff
Member of	General Staff Security Council
Reports to	Minister of Defence of Russia President of Russia (sometimes)
Seat	General Staff Building, Znamenka 14/1, Moscow
Appointer	President of Russia
Formation	9 August 1812 (historical) 10 June 1992 (current)
First holder	General-Adjutant Pavel Gavrilovich Gagarin [ru]
Deputy	First Deputy Chief of the General Staff
Website	www.mil.ru

The Chief of the General Staff (Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба) is the head of the General Staff and the highest ranking officer of the Russian Armed Forces or is also the senior-most uniformed military officer. He is appointed by the President of Russia, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The position dates to the period of the Russian Empire. The current Chief of the General Staff is Army General Valery Gerasimov.

List of chiefs of the general staff

† denotes people who died in office.

Imperial Russian Army (1812–1917)

Chief of the Main Staff

No.	Portrait	Chief of the Main Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		van Heiden, Fyodor LogginovichLieutenant General Fyodor Logginovich van Heiden (1821–1900)	1 January 1866	22 May 1881	15 years, 141 days	Imperial Russian Army
2		Obruchev, NikolaiLieutenant General General of the Infantry Nikolai Obruchev (1830–1904)	10 June 1881	31 December 1897	16 years, 204 days	Imperial Russian Army
3		Sakharov, ViktorLieutenant General Viktor Sakharov (1848–1905)	20 January 1898	11 March 1904	6 years, 51 days	Imperial Russian Army
4		Frolov, PyotrLieutenant General Pyotr A. Frolov [ru] (1852–?)	11 March 1904	28 June 1905	1 year, 109 days	Imperial Russian Army

Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff

No.	Portrait	Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Palitsyn, FyodorGeneral of the Cavalry Fyodor Palitsyn (1851–1923)	28 June 1905	2 December 1908	157 days	Imperial Russian Army
2		Sukhomlinov, VladimirGeneral of the Cavalry Vladimir Sukhomlinov (1848–1926)	2 December 1908	11 March 1909	99 days	Imperial Russian Army
3		Myshlayevsky, AlexanderGeneral of the Infantry Alexander Myshlayevsky (1856–1920)	11 March 1909	September 1909	5 months	Imperial Russian Army
4		Gerngross, EvgenyLieutenant General Evgeny Gerngross [ru] (1855–1912)	September 1909	22 February 1911	1 year, 5 months	Imperial Russian Army
5		Zhilinskiy, YakovGeneral of the Cavalry Yakov Zhilinsky (1853–1918)	22 February 1911	4 March 1914	3 years, 10 days	Imperial Russian Army
6		Yanushkevich, NikolaiMajor General Nikolai Yanushkevich (1868–1918)	5 March 1914	1 August 1914	149 days	Imperial Russian Army
7		Belyaev, MikhailMajor General Mikhail Belyaev (1863–1918)	1 August 1914	10 August 1916	2 years, 9 days	Imperial Russian Army
8		Averyanov, PyotrLieutenant General Pyotr Averyanov [ru] (1867–1937)	10 August 1916	15 May 1917	278 days	Imperial Russian Army
9		Romanovsky, IvanLieutenant General Ivan Romanovsky (1877–1920)	18 July 1917	26 September 1917	134 days	Russian Army (1917)
10		Marushevsky, VladimirMajor General Vladimir Marushevsky (1874–1952)	26 September 1917	23 November 1917	58 days	Russian Army (1917)

Council of People's Commissars on War and Navy Affairs (1917–1918)

No.	Portrait	Chief of the General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Potapov, NikolayMajor General Nikolay Potapov (1871–1946)	23 November 1917	8 May 1918	166 days	Red Army

Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (1918–1921)

No. Portrait Chief of the All-Russian Main Staff Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch 1 Stogov, NikolaiLieutenant General Nikolai Stogov (1873–1959) 8 May 1918 2 August 1919 1 year, 86 days Red Army 2 Svechin, AlexanderMajor General Alexander Svechin (1878–1938) 2 August 1919 22 October 1919 81 days Red Army 3 Rattel, NikolayMajor General Nikolay Rattel (1875–1939) 22 October 1919 10 February 1921 1 year, 111 days Red Army

No. Portrait Chief of the Field Staff Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch 1 Rattel, NikolayMajor General Nikolay Rattel (1875–1939) 6 September 1918 21 October 1918 45 days Red Army 2 Kostyayev, FyodorMajor General Fyodor Kostyayev (1878–1925) 21 October 1918 18 June 1919 240 days Red Army 3 Bonch-Bruyevich, MikhailMajor General Mikhail Bonch-Bruyevich (1870–1956) 18 June 1919 22 July 1919 34 days Red Army 4 Lebedev, PavelMajor General Pavel Lebedev (1872–1933) 22 July 1919 10 February 1921 1 year, 203 days Red Army

Red Army (1921–1946)

Chief of the Staff

No.	Portrait	Chief of the Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Lebedev, PavelMajor General Pavel Lebedev (1872–1933)	10 February 1921	April 1924	3 years, 1 month	Red Army
2		Frunze, MikhailMajor General Mikhail Frunze (1885–1925)	April 1924	January 1925	9 months	Red Army
3		Kamenev, SergeyKomandarm 1st rank Sergey Kamenev (1881–1936)	January 1925	November 1925	10 months	Red Army
4		Tukhachevsky, MikhailMarshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky (1893–1937)	November 1925	May 1928	2 years, 6 months	Red Army
5		Shaposhnikov, BorisKomandarm 1st rank Boris Shaposhnikov (1882–1945)	May 1928	April 1931	2 years, 11 months	Red Army
6		Triandafillov, VladimirGeneral Vladimir Triandafillov (1894–1931)	May 1931	12 July 1931 †	2 months	Red Army
7		Yegorov, AlexanderMarshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Yegorov (1883–1939)	July 1931	September 1935	4 years, 2 months	Red Army

Chief of the General Staff

No.	Portrait	Chief of the General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Yegorov, AlexanderMarshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Yegorov (1883–1939)	September 1935	10 May 1937	1 year, 8 months	Red Army
2		Shaposhnikov, BorisMarshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov (1882–1945)	10 May 1937	August 1940	3 years, 2 months	Red Army
3		Shaposhnikov, BorisArmy General Kirill Meretskov (1897–1968)	August 1940	January 1941	5 months	Red Army
4		Zhukov, GeorgyArmy General Georgy Zhukov (1896–1974)	February 1941	29 July 1941	5 months	Red Army
(2)		Shaposhnikov, BorisMarshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov (1882–1945)	29 July 1941	11 May 1942	286 days	Red Army
5		Vasilevsky, AleksandrMarshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky (1895–1977)	26 June 1942	February 1945	2 years, 7 months	Red Army
6		Antonov, AlekseiArmy General Aleksei Antonov (1896–1962)	February 1945	22 March 1946	1 year, 1 month	Red Army

Soviet Armed Forces (1946–1991)

No.	Portrait	Chief of the General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Vasilevsky, AleksandrMarshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky (1895–1977)	22 March 1946	November 1948	2 years, 7 months	Soviet Army
2		Shtemenko, SergeiArmy General Sergei Shtemenko (1907–1976)	November 1948	June 1952	3 years, 7 months	Soviet Army
3		Sokolovsky, VasilyMarshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Sokolovsky (1897–1968)	June 1952	April 1960	7 years, 10 months	Soviet Army
4		Zakharov, MatveiMarshal of the Soviet Union Matvei Zakharov (1898–1972)	April 1960	March 1963	2 years, 11 months	Soviet Army
5		Biryuzov, SergeyMarshal of the Soviet Union Sergey Biryuzov (1904–1964)	March 1963	19 October 1964 †	1 year, 7 months	Soviet Army
(4)		Zakharov, MatveiMarshal of the Soviet Union Matvei Zakharov (1898–1972)	November 1964	September 1971	6 years, 9 months	Soviet Army
6		Kulikov, ViktorMarshal of the Soviet Union Viktor Kulikov (1921–2013)	September 1971	7 January 1977	5 years, 4 months	Soviet Army
7		Ogarkov, NikolaiMarshal of the Soviet Union Nikolai Ogarkov (1917–1994)	7 January 1977	6 September 1984	7 years, 238 days	Soviet Army
8		Akhromeyev, SergeyMarshal of the Soviet Union Sergey Akhromeyev (1923–1991)	6 September 1984	2 November 1988	4 years, 62 days	Soviet Army
9		Moiseyev, MikhailColonel General Army General Mikhail Moiseyev (1939–2022)	December 1988	23 August 1991	2 years, 8 months	Soviet Army
10		Lobov, VladimirArmy General Vladimir Lobov (born 1935)	25 August 1991	25 December 1991	122 days	Soviet Army

Russian Armed Forces (1992–present)

No.	Portrait	Chief of the General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Dubynin, ViktorArmy General Viktor Dubynin (1943–1992)	10 June 1992	22 November 1992 †	165 days	Russian Ground Forces
2		Kolesnikov, MikhailArmy General Mikhail Kolesnikov (1939–2007)	22 November 1992	18 October 1996	3 years, 331 days	Russian Ground Forces
3		Samsonov, ViktorArmy General Viktor Samsonov (1941–2024)	18 October 1996	22 May 1997	216 days	Russian Ground Forces
4		Kvashnin, AnatolyArmy General Anatoly Kvashnin (1946–2022)	22 May 1997	19 July 2004	7 years, 58 days	Russian Ground Forces
5		Baluyevsky, YuriArmy General Yuri Baluyevsky (born 1947)	19 July 2004	3 June 2008	3 years, 320 days	Russian Ground Forces
6		Makarov, NikolaiArmy General Nikolai Makarov (born 1949)	3 June 2008	9 November 2012	4 years, 159 days	Russian Ground Forces
7		Gerasimov, ValeryArmy General Valery Gerasimov (born 1955)	9 November 2012	Incumbent	12 years, 67 days	Russian Ground Forces

Notes

1. ^ Died in a plane crash.

See also

• Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces
• Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces
• Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy
• Cheget

References

1. ^ Garthoff, Raymond L. (1994). The Great Transition: American-Soviet Relations and the End of the Cold War. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. p. 186. ISBN 0-8157-3060-8. The decision was taken at the regular Politburo meeting and appeared to have been sudden

Further reading

• V.I. Feskov, K.A. Kalashnikov, V.I. Golikov, The Soviet Army in the Years of the Cold War 1945–91, Tomsk University Publishing House, Tomsk, 2004 (for Soviet era list of CGSs).

External links

• Official Russian Ministry of Defense website

v t e Chiefs of the Russian General Staff
Red Army (1921–1946)	Pavel Lebedev (1921–24) Mikhail Frunze (1924–25) Sergey Kamenev (1925) Mikhail Tukhachevsky (1925–28) Boris Shaposhnikov (1928–31) Vladimir Triandafillov (1931) Alexander Yegorov (1931–37) Boris Shaposhnikov (1937–40) Kirill Meretskov (1940–41) Georgy Zhukov (1941) Boris Shaposhnikov (1941–42) Aleksandr Vasilevsky (1942–45) Aleksei Antonov (1945–46)
Soviet Armed Forces (1946–1992)	Aleksandr Vasilevsky (1946–48) Sergei Shtemenko (1948–52) Vasily Sokolovsky (1952–60) Matvei Zakharov (1960–63) Sergey Biryuzov (1963–64) Matvei Zakharov (1964–71) Viktor Kulikov (1971–77) Nikolai Ogarkov (1977–84) Sergey Akhromeyev (1984–88) Mikhail Moiseyev (1988–91) Vladimir Lobov (1991)
Russian Armed Forces (1992–present)	Viktor Dubynin (1992) Mikhail Kolesnikov (1992–96) Viktor Samsonov (1996–97) Anatoly Kvashnin (1997–2004) Yuri Baluyevsky (2004–08) Nikolai Makarov (2008–12) Valery Gerasimov (2012–present)

• Chiefs of defence
• Russian Armed Forces
• Military of the Soviet Union
• Russian commanders in chief
• Chiefs of the General Staff (Russia)