Yuri Baluyevsky Army General Yury Nikolayevich Baluyevsky ( ; born 9 January 1947 at Truskavets in the Ukrainian SSR ) is the former First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation , positions he held from July 2004 to 2008 . In 1970 , he graduated from the Leningrad joint - arms command college , in 1980 , from the Frunze Academy and in 1990 , from the General Staff Academy . From 1970 to 1982 , Baluyevsky served with the Soviet Army ' s Ground Forces , advancing from commander of a motorized rifle platoon to senior officer of a military district operations department . He spent some time with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany . From 1982 to 1997 , Baluyevsky held positions at the General Staff , the Defense Ministry and in the Group of Russian Forces of the Transcaucasus . In August 1997 , he was appointed chief of the General Staff main operations department , and in July 2004 , chief of staff of the Armed Forces and first deputy defense minister . Following the controversial tenure of General Anatoly Kvashnin , General Baluyevsky was seen as a lower - profile officer with good strategic planning skills , according to the Jamestown Federation . Baluyevsky was promoted to General of the Army on 22 February 2005 , and by June he was appointed CSTO Chief of Staff , echoing Warsaw Pact practice with Soviet and now Russian CGSs taking mirror positions within the alliance organisations . On 19 January 2008 , Baluyevsky warned that Russia was ready to use force , including pre - emptively and with nuclear weapons , to defend itself against the potential threats from " international terrorism or countries seeking global or regional hegemony . " He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Almaz - Antey since July 2005 . Traditionally thought of as a commanding officer with good strategic planning skills , Baluyevsky expressed strong criticism over some controversial issues in Russia ' s military policy , including the relocation of the Navy Headquarters from Moscow to St . Petersburg and the role and place of the General Staff in the management of the Russian military . The Chief of General Staff said in a public forum that the move was unnecessary . On 2 June 2008 , Baluyevsky stepped down as Chief of the General Staff , and moved to the position in the Security Council of the Russian Federation . He was succeeded by General of the Army Nikolai Makarov , former Chief of Armaments & Deputy Minister of Defense . Iran ' s Nuclear Program . In explaining Russia ' s rationale , General Yuri Baluyevsky , the Russian Deputy Chief of Staff said at a press conference in June 2002 , " Iran does have nuclear weapons . These are non - strategic nuclear weapons . I mean these are not ICBMs with a range of more than 5 , 500 kilometers . . . As for the danger of Iran ' s attack on the United States , the danger is zero . " General Baluyevsky ' s extraordinary briefing implied that Iran had acquired its fissile material from another source so there was no reason for Russia not to complete the nuclear reactor at Bushehr . He concluded " This co - operation will continue . " ( The cooperation , aside from nuclear reactors , included the delivery of Russian Kilo - class diesel - powered submarines , Mig - 29 fighters , Sukhoy bombers a global navigation system and satellite - launching assistance ) .