# Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces

The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces (Russian: Главнокомандующие Сухопутными войсками России) is the chief commanding authority of the Russian Ground Forces. He is appointed by the President of Russia. The position dates to the period of the Russian Empire. The current Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces is Army General Oleg Salyukov, in office since May 2014.
From 1998 to 2001 the position was briefly called the Chief of the Main Directorate of the Ground Forces.

## List of Commanders

† denotes people who died in office.

### Red Army (1918–1946)
#### Commander-in-Chief

| No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | | Vācietis, JukumsKomandarm 2nd rank Jukums Vācietis (1873–1938) | 6 September 1918 | 8 July 1919 | 305 days |
| 2 | | Kamenev, SergeiKomandarm 1st rank Sergei Kamenev (1881–1936) | 8 July 1919 | 28 April 1924 | 4 years, 295 days |

#### Chief of Staff

| No. | Chief of the Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | Frunze, MikhailMajor General Mikhail Frunze (1885–1925) | April 1924 | January 1925 | 9 months |
| 2 | Kamenev, SergeiKomandarm 1st rank Sergei Kamenev (1881–1936) | January 1925 | November 1925 | 10 months |
| 3 | Tukhachevsky, MikhailMarshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky (1893–1937) | November 1925 | May 1928 | 2 years, 6 months |
| 4 | Shaposhnikov, BorisKomandarm 1st rank Boris Shaposhnikov (1882–1945) | May 1928 | April 1931 | 2 years, 11 months |
| 5 | Triandafillov, VladimirGeneral Vladimir Triandafillov (1894–1931) | May 1931 | 12 July 1931 † | 2 months |
| 6 | Yegorov, Alexander IlyichMarshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Ilyich Yegorov (1883–1939) | July 1931 | September 1935 | 4 years, 2 months |

#### Chief of the General Staff

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

### Soviet Ground Forces (1946–1992)
#### Commander-in-Chief

| No. | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | Zhukov, GeorgyMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (1896–1974) | March 1946 | 9 June 1946 | 5 months |
| 2 | Konev, IvanMarshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev (1897–1973) | 1946 | 1950 | 3–4 years |
| Position of commander of ground forces did not exist from 1950–55 ||||||
| 2 | Konev, IvanMarshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev (1897–1973) | 1955 | 1956 | 0–1 years |
| 3 | Malinovsky, RodionMarshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky (1898–1967) | March 1956 | 26 October 1957 | 1 year |
| 4 | Grechko, AndreiMarshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Grechko (1903–1976) | 1957 | 1960 | 2–3 years |
| 5 | Chuikov, VasilyMarshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Chuikov (1900–1982) | 1960 | 1964 | 3–4 years |
| Position of commander of ground forces did not exist from 1964–67 ||||||
| 6 | Pavlovsky, IvanArmy General Ivan Pavlovsky (1909–1999) | November 1967 | 1979 | 11–12 years |
| 7 | Petrov, VasiliyMarshal of the Soviet Union Vasiliy Petrov (1917–2014) | 1980 | January 1985 | 4–5 years |
| 8 | Ivanovski, YevgeniArmy General Yevgeni Ivanovski (1918–1991) | 5 February 1985 | January 1989 | 3 years |
| 9 | Varennikov, ValentinArmy General Valentin Varennikov (1923–2009) | 5 January 1989 | 31 August 1991 | 2 years |
| 10 | Semyonov, VladimirColonel General Vladimir Semyonov (born 1940) | 31 August 1991 | August 1992 | 0 years |

### Russian Ground Forces (1992–present)
#### Commander-in-Chief

| No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | | Semyonov, VladimirArmy General Vladimir Semyonov (born 1940) | August 1992 | April 1997 | 4 years, 8 months |

#### Chief of the Main Directorate

| No. | Portrait | Chief of the Main Directorate | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| – | | Bukreyev, YuriColonel General Yuri Bukreyev (born 1941) Acting | January 1998 | 9 May 1998 | 4 months |
| 1 | | Bukreyev, YuriColonel general Yuri Bukreyev (born 1941) | 9 May 1998 | March 2001 | 2 years, 9 months |

#### Commander-in-Chief

| No. | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | Kormiltsev, NikolaiArmy General Nikolai Kormiltsev (born 1946) | 28 March 2001 | October 2004 | 3 years, 6 months |
| 2 | Maslov, AlexeyArmy General Aleksei Maslov (1953–2022) | 5 November 2004 | 31 July 2008 | 3 years, 8 months |
| 3 | Bondyrev, VladimirArmy General Vladimir Boldyrev (born 1953) | 31 July 2008 | January 2010 | 1 year, 5 months |
| 4 | Postnikov, AlexanderColonel General Aleksandr Postnikov-Streltsov (born 1953) | 11 January 2010 | 26 April 2012 | 2 years, 3 months |
| 5 | Chirkin, VladimirColonel General Vladimir Chirkin (born 1955) | 26 April 2012 | 2 December 2013 | 1 year, 7 months |
| – | Istrakov, SergeyColonel General Sergey Istrakov [ru] (born 1959) Acting | December 2013 | March 2014 | 2 months |
| 6 | Salyukov, OlegArmy General Oleg Salyukov (born 1955) | 2 March 2014 | Incumbent | 10 years, 10 months |

## Deputies and chiefs of staff
### First deputy commanders
#### Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief

* Aleksandr Grinkevich (1981–1990)
* Mikhail Kolesnikov (1990–1991)
* Boris Gromov (1991–1992)
* Yuri Bukreyev (1992–1994)
* Eduard Vorobyov (1994–1995)
* Anatoly Golovnyov (1995–1998)

#### Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate

* Nikolai Rogozhkin (1998)
* Gennady Kotenko (1998–2001)

#### Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief

* Aleksandr Morozov (2001–2008)
* Nikolai Bogdanovsky (2008–2009)
* Sergey Skokov (2009–2011)
* unknown
* Sergey Istrakov (2013–2015)
* Aleksey Dyumin (2015)
* Vladimir Popov (2016–2018)
* Vasily Tonkoshkurov (2018–2022)
* Alexei Kim (2022–2023)
* Aleksandr Lapin (2023–2024)
* Rustam Muradov (2024–present)

### Deputy commanders
#### Deputy Commander of the Ground Forces

* unknown
* Vladimir Moltenskoy (2002–2003)
* Vladimir Bulgakov (2003–2006)
* Valery Yevnevich (2006–2009)
* Aleksandr Studenikin (2009–2010)
* unknown
* Alexander Lentsov (2013–2020)
* Aleksandr Matovnikov (2020–present)