# Chief of the General Staff (Russia)

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)
#### Director of the Inspection Department of the Ministry of War

| No. | Portrait | Director of the Inspection Department of the Ministry of War | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| 1 | | Gagarin, PavelGeneral-Adjutant Pavel Gavrilovich Gagarin [ru] (1777–1850) | 9 August 1812 | 13 December 1814 | 2 years, 126 days | Imperial Russian Army |
| 2 | | Kleinmikhel, AndreyLieutenant General Andrey Kleinmikhel [ru] (1757–1815) | 13 December 1814 | 25 June 1815 | 194 days | Imperial Russian Army |

#### Chief of the Main Staff

| No. | 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 Frolov (1852–?) | 11 March 1904 | 28 June 1905 | 1 year, 109 days | Imperial Russian Army |

#### Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff

| No. | Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| 1 | Palitzin, FyodorGeneral of the Cavalry Fyodor Palitzin (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, YevgenyLieutenant General Yevgeny Gerngross (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 (1867–1937) | 10 August 1916 | 15 May 1917 | 278 days | Russian Army |
| 9 | Romanovsky, IvanLieutenant General Ivan Romanovsky (1877–1920) | 18 July 1917 | 26 September 1917 | 134 days | Russian Army |
| 10 | Marushevsky, VladimirMajor General Vladimir Marushevsky (1874–1952) | 26 September 1917 | 23 November 1917 | 58 days | Russian Army |

### 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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, 129 days | Russian Ground Forces |