Valery Gerasimov

Valery Gerasimov
Valery Gerasimov
Валерий Герасимов
	Official portrait, 2022
Chief of the General Staff
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 9 November 2012
President	Vladimir Putin
Minister	Sergei Shoigu; Andrey Belousov
Deputy	Nikolai Bogdanovsky
Preceded by	Nikolai Makarov
Commander of the Central Military District
	In office; 26 April – 8 November 2012
Preceded by	Vladimir Chirkin
Succeeded by	Alexander Dvornikov
First Deputy Chief of the General Staff
	In office; 23 December 2010 – March 2012
Chief	Nikolai Makarov
Preceded by	Alexander Burutin
Succeeded by	Position abolished; Nikolai Bogdanovsky (2014)
Commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the Special Military Operation zone
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 11 January 2023
Deputy	Sergey Surovikin; Oleg Salyukov; Alexei Kim
Preceded by	Sergey Surovikin
Personal details
Born	8 September 1955; Kazan, Tatar ASSR, Soviet Union
Alma mater	General Staff Academy
Profession	Soldier
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union (1973–1991); Russia (since 1991);
Branch/service	Soviet Army; Russian Ground Forces;
Years of service	1977–present
Rank	General of the Army
Commands	Central Military District; Moscow Military District; Leningrad Military District; 58th Army; 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division;
Battles/wars	Second Chechen War; Syrian Civil War; Russo-Ukrainian War War in Donbas Battle of Ilovaisk; ; Battle of Izium; 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive; ;
Awards	Hero of the Russian Federation; Order of Honour; Order of St. George (3rd and 4th Class);

Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov (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.

He 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. He 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. Gerasimov has been described as a loyal follower of Putin. He is reportedly the one who conceived the Gerasimov Doctrine.