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Knives Out: Russia’s Military Command

Knives Out: Russia’s Military Command

The upheaval in Russia's military leadership continued as a top general was arrested shortly after the appointments of a new defense minister and a new deputy. It's not the first time authorities have shuffled, demoted, detained, or dismissed commanders since the start of all-out war on Ukraine in February 2022. Here's what we know about who's who and where they are.

Known status:

Incumbent

Dismissed/removed from command

Status unclear

Promoted

Vladimir Putin

Russian President

Andrei Belousov

New Defense Minister

Sergei Shoigu

Defense Minister

(shifted to head of Security Council)

General

Valery Gerasimov

Chief of General Staff

Oleg Savelyev

New Deputy Defense Minister

Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU)

Lieutenant General

Vadim Shamarin***

Deputy Chief of General Staff

Timur Ivanov**

Deputy Defense Minister

Colonel General

Mikhail Mizintsev*

Top commander of Wagner Group

Lieutenant General

Vladimir Alekseyev

First Deputy Director

General

Sergei Surovikin

Former Ukraine theater commander

Lieutenant General

Yury Kuznetsov***

Head of personnel

Airborne

Forces

Southern Military District

Navy

Admiral

Nikolai Yevmenov

Commander in chief

Colonel General

Mikhail Teplinsky****

Overall commander

Colonel General

Sergei Kuzovlev

Commander

7th Guards Airborne Division

106th Guards Airborne Division

58th Combined Arms Army

Black Sea Fleet

Admiral

Viktor Sokolov

Commander

Major General

Aleksandr

Kornev

Commander

Major General

Vladimir Selivyorstov

Commander

Major General

Ivan Popov***

Commander

*Reportedly removed from deputy defense minister post in April 2023; later joined the Wagner mercenary group as a top commander.

**Arrested in April 2024 on bribery charges.

***Arrested in May 2024 on bribery and/or fraud charges.

**** Took over command of the Dnipro Group, in Ukraine, in October 2023 from Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, who was reportedly removed for providing false reports on battlefield casualties.

Known status:

Incumbent

Dismissed/removed from command

Status unclear

Promoted

Vladimir Putin

Russian President

Andrei Belousov

New Defense Minister

Sergei Shoigu

Defense Minister

(shifted to head of Security Council)

General

Valery Gerasimov

Chief of General

Staff

Lieutenant General

Vadim Shamarin***

Deputy Chief of General Staff

Oleg Savelyev

New Deputy Defense Minister

General

Sergei Surovikin

Former Ukraine theater commander

Timur Ivanov**

Deputy Defense Minister

Colonel General

Mikhail Mizintsev*

Top commander of Wagner Group

Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU)

Lieutenant General

Yury Kuznetsov***

Head of personnel

Lieutenant General

Vladimir Alekseyev

First Deputy Director

Airborne Forces

Navy

Southern Military District

Admiral

Nikolai Yevmenov

Commander in chief

Colonel General

Mikhail Teplinsky****

Overall commander

Colonel General

Sergei Kuzovlev

Commander

Black Sea Fleet

7th Guards Airborne Division

106th Guards Airborne Division

58th Combined Arms Army

Admiral

Viktor Sokolov

Commander

Major General

Aleksandr Kornev

Commander

Major General

Vladimir Selivyorstov

Commander

Major General

Ivan

Popov***

Commander

*Reportedly removed from deputy defense minister post in April 2023; later joined the Wagner mercenary group as a top commander.

**Arrested in April 2024 on bribery charges.

***Arrested in May 2024 on bribery and/or fraud charges.

**** Took over command of the Dnipro Group, in Ukraine, in October 2023 from Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, who was reportedly removed for providing false reports on battlefield casualties.

Known status:

Incumbent

Dismissed/removed from command

Status unclear

Promoted

Vladimir Putin

Russian President

Andrei Belousov

New Defense Minister

Sergei Shoigu

Defense Minister (shifted to head of Security Council)

General

Valery Gerasimov

Chief of General

Staff

Oleg Savelyev

New Deputy Defense Minister

Lieutenant General

Vadim Shamarin***

Deputy Chief of General Staff

Colonel General

Mikhail Mizintsev*

Top commander of Wagner Group

Timur Ivanov**

Deputy Defense Minister

General

Sergei Surovikin

Former Ukraine theater commander

Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU)

Lieutenant General

Yury Kuznetsov***

Head of personnel

Lieutenant

General

Vladimir Alekseyev

First Deputy Director

Navy

Airborne Forces

Southern Military District

Admiral

Nikolai Yevmenov

Commander in chief

Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky****

Overall commander

Colonel General

Sergei Kuzovlev

Commander

7th Guards Airborne Division

106th Guards Airborne Division

58th Combined Arms Army

Black Sea Fleet

Major

General

Vladimir Selivyorstov

Commander

Major

General

Ivan

Popov***

Commander

Admiral

Viktor Sokolov

Commander

Major General Aleksandr Kornev

Commander

*Reportedly removed from deputy defense minister post in April 2023; later joined the Wagner mercenary group as a top commander.

**Arrested in April 2024 on bribery charges.

***Arrested in May 2024 on bribery and/or fraud charges.

**** Took over command of the Dnipro Group, in Ukraine, in October 2023 from Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, who was reportedly removed for providing false reports on battlefield casualties.

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