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General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
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Valery Vasilievich Gerasimov(born September 8, Kazan, RSFSR, USSR) - Soviet and Russian military leader, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - first deputy (since November 9, 2012), member since 2012, Army General (2013), Hero of the Russian Federation (2016).
Biography
He served as a platoon and company commander, chief of staff of a battalion in the 80th Tank Regiment of the 90th Guards Tank Division of the Northern Group of Forces in Poland, chief of staff of a battalion in the Far Eastern Military District (1977-1984), chief of staff - deputy commander of a tank regiment, commander tank regiment, chief of staff - deputy commander (1987-1993) and commander (1993-1995) of the Guards Motorized Rifle Division in the Baltic Military District and the North-Western Group of Forces. In August 1994, he led the withdrawal of the division to the Moscow Military District (the city of Yelnya). Since 1995 - studying at the academy.
Since 1997, he served as 1st Deputy Commander of the 1st Guards Tank Army in the Moscow Military District (1997-1998), deputy commander, since February 1998, chief of staff, and since February 2001, commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army in the North Caucasus Military District. He served as chief of staff of the Far Eastern Military District since March 2003, and since April 2005 - head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training and Service of the Armed Forces. In December 2006, he took up the post of chief of staff of the North Caucasus Military District.
From December 11, 2007 to February 5, 2009 - commander of the troops of the Leningrad Military District, from February 5, 2009 to December 23, 2010 - commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District.
Since April 26, 2012 - commander of the troops of the Central Military District.
Since November 13, 2012, he has been a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. During the absence of the Minister of Defense, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov is the Acting Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
In January 2013, he addressed the general meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences with a report on the topic “Main trends in the development of forms and methods of using the armed forces, current tasks of military science to improve them.”
Army General Valery Gerasimov is the Chairman of the interdepartmental commission for the State Prize named after Marshal G.K. Zhukova.
Dubynin (1992) | Kolesnikov (1992-1996) | Samsonov (1996-1997) | Kvashnin (1997-2004) | Baluevsky (2004-2008) | Makarov (2008-2012) | Gerasimov(since 2012)
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An excerpt characterizing Gerasimov, Valery Vasilievich
Bonaparte, galloping up, stopped his horse.-Who is the eldest? - he said when he saw the prisoners.
They named the colonel, Prince Repnin.
– Are you the commander of the cavalry regiment of Emperor Alexander? - asked Napoleon.
“I commanded a squadron,” answered Repnin.
“Your regiment honestly fulfilled its duty,” said Napoleon.
“The praise of a great commander is the best reward for a soldier,” said Repnin.
“I give it to you with pleasure,” said Napoleon. -Who is this young man next to you?
Prince Repnin named Lieutenant Sukhtelen.
Looking at him, Napoleon said, smiling:
– II est venu bien jeune se frotter a nous. [He came to compete with us when he was young.]
“Youth doesn’t stop you from being brave,” Sukhtelen said in a breaking voice.
“Excellent answer,” said Napoleon. - Young man, you will go far!
Prince Andrei, who, to complete the trophy of the captives, was also put forward, in full view of the emperor, could not help but attract his attention. Napoleon apparently remembered that he had seen him on the field and, addressing him, used the same name of the young man - jeune homme, under which Bolkonsky was reflected in his memory for the first time.
– Et vous, jeune homme? Well, what about you, young man? - he turned to him, - how do you feel, mon brave?
Despite the fact that five minutes before this, Prince Andrei could say a few words to the soldiers carrying him, he now, directly fixing his eyes on Napoleon, was silent... All the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him at that moment, so petty seemed to him his hero himself, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, fair and kind sky that he saw and understood - that he could not answer him.
And everything seemed so useless and insignificant in comparison with the strict and majestic structure of thought that was caused in him by the weakening of his strength from the bleeding, suffering and the imminent expectation of death. Looking into the eyes of Napoleon, Prince Andrei thought about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, the meaning of which no one could understand, and about the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one living could understand and explain.
The emperor, without waiting for an answer, turned away and, driving away, turned to one of the commanders:
“Let them take care of these gentlemen and take them to my bivouac; let my doctor Larrey examine their wounds. Goodbye, Prince Repnin,” and he, moving his horse, galloped on.
There was a radiance of self-satisfaction and happiness on his face.
The soldiers who brought Prince Andrei and removed from him the golden icon they found, hung on his brother by Princess Marya, seeing the kindness with which the emperor treated the prisoners, hastened to return the icon.
Prince Andrei did not see who put it on again or how, but on his chest, above his uniform, suddenly there was an icon on a small gold chain.
“It would be good,” thought Prince Andrei, looking at this icon, which his sister hung on him with such feeling and reverence, “it would be good if everything were as clear and simple as it seems to Princess Marya. How nice it would be to know where to look for help in this life and what to expect after it, there, beyond the grave! How happy and calm I would be if I could now say: Lord, have mercy on me!... But to whom will I say this? Either the power is indefinite, incomprehensible, which I not only cannot address, but which I cannot express in words - the great all or nothing, - he said to himself, - or this is the God who is sewn up here, in this palm, Princess Marya? Nothing, nothing is true, except the insignificance of everything that is clear to me, and the greatness of something incomprehensible, but most important!
The stretcher started moving. With each push he again felt unbearable pain; the feverish state intensified, and he began to become delirious. Those dreams of his father, wife, sister and future son and the tenderness that he experienced on the night before the battle, the figure of the small, insignificant Napoleon and the high sky above all this, formed the main basis of his feverish ideas.
A quiet life and calm family happiness in Bald Mountains seemed to him. He was already enjoying this happiness when suddenly little Napoleon appeared with his indifferent, limited and happy look at the misfortune of others, and doubts and torment began, and only the sky promised peace. By morning, all the dreams mixed up and merged into the chaos and darkness of unconsciousness and oblivion, which, in the opinion of Larrey himself, Doctor Napoleon, were much more likely to be resolved by death than by recovery.
“C"est un sujet nerveux et bilieux," said Larrey, "il n"en rechappera pas. [This is a nervous and bilious man, he will not recover.]
Prince Andrey, among other hopelessly wounded, was handed over to the care of the residents.
At the beginning of 1806, Nikolai Rostov returned on vacation. Denisov was also going home to Voronezh, and Rostov persuaded him to go with him to Moscow and stay in their house. At the penultimate station, having met a comrade, Denisov drank three bottles of wine with him and, approaching Moscow, despite the potholes of the road, he did not wake up, lying at the bottom of the relay sleigh, near Rostov, which, as it approached Moscow, came more and more to impatience.
“Is it soon? Soon? Oh, these unbearable streets, shops, rolls, lanterns, cab drivers!” thought Rostov, when they had already signed up for their holidays at the outpost and entered Moscow.
- Denisov, we’ve arrived! Sleeping! - he said, leaning forward with his whole body, as if by this position he hoped to speed up the movement of the sleigh. Denisov did not respond.
“Here is the corner of the intersection where Zakhar the cabman stands; Here he is Zakhar, and still the same horse. Here is the shop where they bought gingerbread. Soon? Well!
- To which house? - asked the coachman.
- Yes, over there at the end, how can you not see! This is our home,” said Rostov, “after all, this is our home!” Denisov! Denisov! We'll come now.
Denisov raised his head, cleared his throat and did not answer.
“Dmitry,” Rostov turned to the footman in the irradiation room. - After all, this is our fire?
“That’s exactly how daddy’s office is lit up.”
– Haven’t gone to bed yet? A? How do you think? “Don’t forget to get me a new Hungarian at once,” Rostov added, feeling the new mustache. “Come on, let’s go,” he shouted to the coachman. “Wake up, Vasya,” he turned to Denisov, who lowered his head again. - Come on, let's go, three rubles for vodka, let's go! - Rostov shouted when the sleigh was already three houses away from the entrance. It seemed to him that the horses were not moving. Finally the sleigh took to the right towards the entrance; Above his head, Rostov saw a familiar cornice with chipped plaster, a porch, a sidewalk pillar. He jumped out of the sleigh as he walked and ran into the hallway. The house also stood motionless, unwelcoming, as if it did not care about who came to it. There was no one in the hallway. "My God! is everything alright? thought Rostov, stopping for a minute with a sinking heart and immediately starting to run further along the entryway and familiar, crooked steps. The same door handle of the castle, for the uncleanness of which the countess was angry, also opened weakly. One tallow candle was burning in the hallway.
Old man Mikhail was sleeping on the chest. Prokofy, the traveling footman, the one who was so strong that he could lift the carriage by the back, sat and knitted bast shoes from the edges. He looked at the opened door, and his indifferent, sleepy expression suddenly transformed into an enthusiastically frightened one.
- Fathers, lights! Young Count! – he cried out, recognizing the young master. - What is this? My darling! - And Prokofy, shaking with excitement, rushed to the door to the living room, probably to make an announcement, but apparently changed his mind again, returned back and fell on the young master’s shoulder.
-Are you healthy? - Rostov asked, pulling his hand away from him.
- God bless! All glory to God! We just ate it now! Let me look at you, Your Excellency!
- Is everything all right?
- Thank God, thank God!
Rostov, completely forgetting about Denisov, not wanting to let anyone warn him, took off his fur coat and ran on tiptoe into the dark, large hall. Everything is the same, the same card tables, the same chandelier in a case; but someone had already seen the young master, and before he had time to reach the living room, something quickly, like a storm, flew out of the side door and hugged and began to kiss him. Another, third, same creature jumped out of another, third door; more hugs, more kisses, more screams, tears of joy. He couldn’t make out where and who dad was, who was Natasha, who was Petya. Everyone was screaming, talking and kissing him at the same time. Only his mother was not among them - he remembered that.
- I didn’t know... Nikolushka... my friend!
- Here he is... ours... My friend, Kolya... He has changed! No candles! Tea!
- Yes, kiss me!
- Darling... and then me.
Sonya, Natasha, Petya, Anna Mikhailovna, Vera, the old count, hugged him; and people and maids, filling the rooms, muttered and gasped.
Petya hung on his legs. - And then me! - he shouted. Natasha, after she had bent him to her and kissed his entire face, jumped away from him and holding onto the hem of his Hungarian jacket, jumped like a goat all in one place and squealed shrilly.
On all sides there were eyes shining with tears of joy, loving eyes, on all sides there were lips seeking a kiss.
Sonya, red as red, also held his hand and was all beaming in the blissful gaze fixed on his eyes, which she was waiting for. Sonya was already 16 years old, and she was very beautiful, especially at this moment of happy, enthusiastic animation. She looked at him without taking her eyes off, smiling and holding her breath. He looked at her gratefully; but still waited and looked for someone. The old countess had not come out yet. And then steps were heard at the door. The steps are so fast that they couldn't be his mother's.
But it was she in a new dress, still unfamiliar to him, sewn without him. Everyone left him and he ran to her. When they came together, she fell on his chest, sobbing. She could not raise her face and only pressed it to the cold strings of his Hungarian. Denisov, unnoticed by anyone, entered the room, stood right there and, looking at them, rubbed his eyes.
“Vasily Denisov, a friend of your son,” he said, introducing himself to the count, who was looking at him questioningly.
- Welcome. I know, I know,” said the count, kissing and hugging Denisov. - Nikolushka wrote... Natasha, Vera, here he is Denisov.
The same happy, enthusiastic faces turned to the shaggy figure of Denisov and surrounded him.
- Darling, Denisov! - Natasha squealed, not remembering herself with delight, jumped up to him, hugged and kissed him. Everyone was embarrassed by Natasha's action. Denisov also blushed, but smiled and took Natasha’s hand and kissed it.
Denisov was taken to the room prepared for him, and the Rostovs all gathered in the sofa near Nikolushka.
The old countess, without letting go of his hand, which she kissed every minute, sat next to him; the rest, crowding around them, caught his every movement, word, glance, and did not take their rapturously loving eyes off him. The brother and sisters argued and grabbed each other's places closer to him, and fought over who should bring him tea, a scarf, a pipe.
Rostov was very happy with the love that was shown to him; but the first minute of his meeting was so blissful that his present happiness seemed not enough to him, and he kept waiting for something else, and more, and more.
The next morning, the visitors slept from the road until 10 o'clock.
In the previous room there were scattered sabers, bags, tanks, open suitcases, and dirty boots. The cleaned two pairs with spurs had just been placed against the wall. Servants brought washbasins, hot water for shaving, and cleaned dresses. It smelled of tobacco and men.
- Hey, G"ishka, t"ubku! – Vaska Denisov’s hoarse voice shouted. - Rostov, get up!
Rostov, rubbing his drooping eyes, raised his confused head from the hot pillow.
- Why is it late? “It’s late, it’s 10 o’clock,” Natasha’s voice answered, and in the next room the rustling of starched dresses, the whispering and laughter of girls’ voices was heard, and something blue, ribbons, black hair and cheerful faces flashed through the slightly open door. It was Natasha with Sonya and Petya, who came to see if he was up.
- Nikolenka, get up! – Natasha’s voice was heard again at the door.
- Now!
At this time, Petya, in the first room, saw and grabbed the sabers, and experiencing the delight that boys experience at the sight of a warlike older brother, and forgetting that it was indecent for sisters to see undressed men, opened the door.
- Is this your saber? - he shouted. The girls jumped back. Denisov, with frightened eyes, hid his furry legs in a blanket, looking back at his comrade for help. The door let Petya through and closed again. Laughter was heard from behind the door.
“Nikolenka, come out in your dressing gown,” said Natasha’s voice.
- Is this your saber? - Petya asked, - or is it yours? - He addressed the mustachioed, black Denisov with obsequious respect.
Rostov hastily put on his shoes, put on his robe and went out. Natasha put on one boot with a spur and climbed into the other. Sonya was spinning and was just about to puff up her dress and sit down when he came out. Both were wearing the same brand new blue dresses - fresh, rosy, cheerful. Sonya ran away, and Natasha, taking her brother by the arm, led him to the sofa, and they began to talk. They did not have time to ask each other and answer questions about thousands of little things that could only interest them alone. Natasha laughed at every word that he said and that she said, not because what they said was funny, but because she was having fun and was unable to contain her joy, which was expressed by laughter.
The ideas of the Chief of the Russian General Staff force NATO to strengthen its military group.
In the forests and fields of Belarus, Russian tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers form a battle formation oriented to the west. Warships are conducting combat maneuvers in the Baltic Sea. Planes with paratroopers are preparing to take off. Who is the enemy? The militant state of Veishnoria, in which Western-funded terrorists have entrenched themselves, seeking to destabilize Russia and penetrate its sphere of influence.
In fact, Veishnoria is a fictional country, and Russia is just conducting exercises on the eastern border of the European Union. However, nervous NATO leaders are already saying that such a show of force reflects the concept of “hybrid warfare” developed by General Valery Gerasimov, who heads the general staff of the Russian armed forces. This military doctrine has supposedly made Russia a more dangerous threat than at any time since the Cold War.
As the week-long Zapad exercise unfolds, NATO is strengthening its presence in the Baltics, the US Air Force is taking control of Baltic airspace, and European governments are preparing to defend against disinformation campaigns, fake news and cyber attacks.
Silent and rarely seen in public, Mr. Gerasimov is an exemplary general. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu once called him “a military man to the root of his hair.”
Mr Shoigu, a politician turned general, is believed to take advice from a former tanker on military matters. According to one review, “Shoigu perfectly imitates playing the guitar while Gerasimov plays it in the background.”
As the de facto head of the Russian armed forces, Mr. Gerasimov published his reflections on military science. “In the 21st century, there is a tendency to blur the distinction between the state of war and peace. Wars are no longer declared, and once they start, they don’t follow the usual pattern,” he said in a 2,000-word article published in February 2013 in the Russian weekly newspaper Military-Industrial Courier.
“Asymmetrical actions have become widespread... These include the use of special operations forces and internal opposition to create a permanent front throughout the entire territory of the opposing state, as well as information impact, the forms and methods of which are constantly being improved,” he argued.
This material was written on the basis of a report that Mr. Gerasimov made three months after his appointment as Chief of the General Staff. Its description of hybrid warfare, which includes “political, economic, informational, humanitarian and other non-military measures,” proved prophetic a year later. Russian soldiers in uniform without insignia appeared in Crimea and carried out an operation that led to the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. This was preceded by demonstrations organized by Russian agents against the pro-Western government of Ukraine.
Western observers immediately began to perceive Mr. Gerasimov's article as a blueprint for future Russian hybrid attacks directed against the West. The spread of pro-Russian news media, the financial support given to anti-establishment European politicians, and the alleged activities of Russian hackers against Western political campaigns and elections are all seen as manifestations of the so-called Gerasimov Doctrine.
“Remote non-contact influence on the enemy is becoming the main way to achieve the goals of battle and operation,” Mr. Gerasimov noted in his article, which the head of the US Marine Corps, Robert Neller, in his own words, reread three times. “All this is complemented by covert military measures, including the implementation of information warfare measures and the actions of special operations forces.”
Mr. Gerasimov is married and has a son. The future general was born in 1955 into a working-class family in the city of Kazan, located on the banks of the Volga about 800 kilometers east of Moscow. There he graduated from the Higher Tank Command School.
Gerasimov quickly made a career in the tank forces of the Red Army. He served in different parts of the Soviet Union, commanded the 58th Army in the North Caucasus, and fought in Chechnya. For some time he was the chief of staff of the Far Eastern Military District, and then commanded the troops of the St. Petersburg and Moscow military districts, and then became deputy chief of the general staff. He was removed from this position after a confrontation with his superior, but returned five months later to replace him as head of the General Staff.
“I believe that all the activities of the General Staff should be aimed at achieving one main goal - maintaining the combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces,” he told Vladimir Putin on the day of his appointment. However, many doubt the existence of the Gerasimov Doctrine as a comprehensive strategy.
“As far as I understand, [Mr.] Gerasimov was trying to explain how the West acts against Russia, not to tell how Russia should act,” says Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. - In the West, many are trying to present him as a strategist and visionary. However, in reality he is a military man in its purest form.”
Mr Gerasimov last week met with the chairman of NATO's Military Committee, Petr Pavel, to reassure him that the Zapad exercises were defensive in nature and did not pose a threat to other countries. However, both in Poland and the Baltic states, many are alarmed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and fear that the head of the Russian General Staff may take advantage of war games and plan a similar provocation.
“We must not copy other people’s experience and catch up with leading countries, but work ahead and be in leading positions ourselves,” he emphasized in his text in 2013.
Henry Foy
Financial Times, UK From the author of the topic - the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces was awarded the military rank of Army General
http://tass.ru/info/2241252
The head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, attracts so much attention in the foreign military environment and the media like no other Russian military man. Not long ago, the Wall Street Journal named Gerasimov the most influential officer of his time in Russia. His open works are translated into English and cause large-scale discussions. The general's statements and actions are closely monitored. It is Gerasimov who is today called in the West the main ideologist of the “hybrid war.”
"Cardinal" Gerasimov
Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov was born in 1955, served in the Northern Group of Forces in Poland, was the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army in the North Caucasus Military District, and in 2006 took up the post of Chief of Staff of the North Caucasus Military District.
The Russian officer initially came into the focus of attention of foreign military analysts and the media, not so much after his appointment as Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2012, but in February 2013 after the publication of his article "The value of science is foresight" in the newspaper "Military-Industrial Courier".
After the events in Crimea and Donbass, this article became a hit in the West; it was repeatedly translated into English and parsed into quotes. Gerasimov began to be considered the main theorist of Russian actions in modern military conflicts, in Syria and Ukraine
In 2016, the head of the US Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller, admitted that he had re-read Gerasimov’s article three times and thought a lot about how the Russians plan to fight future wars.
In the most sensational article of 2013, Gerasimov, by the way, did not so much formulate some new doctrine as analyze and criticize the actions of Western countries in changing political regimes in Libya and Syria, assessed the development of events during the “Arab Spring” and the possibilities of protection against such actions.
Gerasimov wrote: “In the 21st century, there is a tendency to erase the differences between the state of war and peace. Wars are no longer declared, and once they begin, they do not follow the pattern we are accustomed to. The role of non-military methods in achieving political and strategic goals has increased, which in some cases have significantly surpassed the force of weapons in their effectiveness. The emphasis of the methods of confrontation used is shifting towards the widespread use of political, economic, informational, humanitarian and other non-military measures, implemented with the use of the protest potential of the population.”
In the article itself, by the way, the word “hybrid” is never mentioned, and only three times there is a reference to “asymmetrical” forms of conflicts, first of all we are talking about information pressure on the population and political elite of the participants in the confrontation. There is not even a mention of cyber activity, although today in foreign media, in connection with accusations that Russia interfered in the US elections, Gerasimov, without a shadow of a doubt, is credited with creating a theoretical basis for conducting cyber attacks on the US and European countries.
In 2014, the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces was included in the sanctions lists of the European Union and Canada, in May 2017, Gerasimov was included in the expanded sanctions list of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and in June of this year, Montenegro announced a ban on the general visiting the country.
In March of this year, Gerasimov published another article "World on the brink of war", where “hybrid warfare”, US actions in Syria and the Middle East, the cyber attack on Iran in 2015 and the importance of social networks are actually discussed. But the general’s second work has not yet received such wide circulation and is not as mythologized abroad as the first.
How the shadow of “hybrid war” grew
“Hybrid warfare” cannot be called something new. In Russia, people began to think about “half-wars” a very long time ago. The theorist of this type of war was Colonel and Professor Evgeniy Eduardovich Messner (1891-1974), one of the largest representatives of military thought in the Russian Abroad. He comprehensively developed the theory and predicted the development of this type of war in his books “Rebellion - the name of the third world war” and “Worldwide rebellion”.
Messner reasoned this way: “In a future war, they will fight not on the line, but on the entire surface of the territories of both opponents, because political, social, and economic fronts will arise behind the armed front; they will fight not on a two-dimensional surface, as in the old days, not in three-dimensional space, as it has been since the birth of military aviation, but in four-dimensional space, where the psyche of the warring peoples is the fourth dimension.”
Another significant ideologist was Georgy Samoilovich Isserson (1898-1976) - Soviet military leader, colonel, professor, one of the developers of the theory of deep operations. His works “The Evolution of Operational Art” and “Fundamentals of Deep Operations” are today of great interest both in Russia and in the West, where he is translated into English. Gerasimov, by the way, mentions Isserson in his works.
In the United States, until 2010, the term “hybrid war” was practically not used, since the American military did not see the point in introducing a new term to such long-existing and established terms in their doctrines as “irregular war” and “unconventional war.” For a long time, military personnel in the West did not approve of the populist hype around the new term that arose in the media, as an extra reason for journalists, analysts and experts to “talk”, but seven years have passed and today this term is deeply rooted in the vocabulary of Western military personnel when they talk about Russia.
In the United States in 2005, long before all of Gerasimov’s articles, American General James Mattis, now the head of the Pentagon, and Colonel Frank Hoffman published a landmark article “The Future of Warfare: The Rise of Hybrid Wars,” in which they refer to the military doctrine of the 90s of the former Corps commander US Marine Corps General Charles Krulak about three blocks of the war, added a fourth block. Krulak's three blocks are the direct conduct of hostilities, peacekeeping operations to separate the warring parties, and the provision of humanitarian assistance. The fourth new block of Mattis and Hoffman is psychological and information operations and work with the population.
In 2010, NATO's Bi-Strategic Command Capstone Concept explicitly and formally defined “hybrid” threats as those posed by an adversary capable of simultaneously adaptively using conventional and unconventional means to achieve its own goals. In 2012, the book “Hybrid Warfare: Fighting a Complex Opponent from Ancient Times to the Present Day,” which became famous in narrow circles, was published by historian Williamson Murray and Colonel Peter Mansur.
In May 2014, the US Army and Marine Corps adopted a very interesting document - a new edition of Field Manual 3-24 called “Insurrections and Suppression of Uprisings.” The new version of the charter is focused on the indirect (indirect) participation of the United States in suppressing uprisings in a particular country, when American troops are not deployed en masse at all, and all the work on the ground is done by the security forces of the country receiving American assistance. Descriptions of the insurgent movement, the prerequisites for its emergence, strategy and tactics of action are depicted in such detail that sometimes it is completely unclear where we are talking about preparing an uprising and where about its suppression. That is, the chapters from the American Charter can be used by anyone as a good general instruction for action and preparation for an uprising.
Thus, it is not difficult to compare Gerasimov’s recent work and the work of American theorists and practitioners, including the current US Secretary of Defense, ten years ago. But it was Gerasimov who was declared the ideologist of the “hybrid war”.
However, there are sound thoughts from foreign colleagues as well. Michael Kofman, a political scientist at the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, writes: “In the West, this phrase now refers to any actions of Russia that frighten the speaker. The danger is that many military men and politicians are convinced that a full-fledged Russian hybrid warfare doctrine is a reality. And believing this, they tend to see manifestations of hybrid types of confrontations everywhere - especially where they do not exist. After all, almost any Russian action - in the information, political or military field - can now be interpreted as hybrid. Meaningless phrases can be deadly weapons in the mouths of people in power.”
Ilya Plekhanov
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General
Biography
Born on September 8, 1955 in Kazan. In 1977 he graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School named after the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Commanded a platoon, company, battalion in the Northern Group of Forces and the Far Eastern Military District.
After graduating in 1987 from the Military Academy of Armored Forces named after Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Ya. Malinovsky served as chief of staff and commander of a tank regiment, chief of staff of a motorized rifle division in the Baltic Military District. From 1993 to 1995 - commander of a motorized rifle division in the North-Western Group of Forces.
After graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 1997, he served as first deputy army commander in the Moscow Military District, deputy commander, chief of staff and commander of the 58th Army in the North Caucasus Military District.
From 2003 to 2005 - Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Military District. Since 2005 - Head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training and Troop Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and since December 2006 - Chief of Staff of the North Caucasus Military District.
In December 2007, he was appointed commander of the troops of the Leningrad Military District, and in February 2009, commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District.
Since December 2010 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 9, 2012, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Hero of the Russian Federation.
Awarded the Order of St. George, III and IV degrees, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree with swords, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree with swords, the Order of Military Merit, the Order of Honor, the Order of Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree and a number of medals.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on hybrid warfare
A general meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences (AVS) was held at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. According to tradition, it was held in the form of a military-scientific conference. The topic of discussion was the organization of the country's defense in order to counter military and non-military threats. Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, made a report at the conference “Modern wars and current issues of national defense”..
Clausewitz also compared war to extended combat, defining it as an act of violence aimed at forcing the enemy to carry out our will.
Outstanding Russian and Soviet theorists of the early 20th century made a significant contribution to the development of the science of war. Andrey Snesarev And Alexander Svechin. The subject of their research was the main trends in warfare, which is a consequence of not only political, but also economic and social relations. By the beginning of the 90s, a stable understanding of war had developed as a means of achieving political goals solely on the basis of armed struggle.
In the United States, a classification has been formed that includes traditional and unconventional wars. And at the beginning of the 21st century, American theorists proposed to supplement it. They include actions during a period that cannot be attributed in its pure form to either war or peace.
In domestic science and practice there is a more balanced approach to the classification of modern armed conflicts. It takes into account more features. At the same time, there is no definition of war in international and domestic official documents. In the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation, it is called a form of resolving interstate or intrastate contradictions with the use of military force.
An active discussion on clarifying the concept itself continues. Some scientists and specialists adhere to the classical interpretation. Others propose to radically reconsider the content and essence of the term “war,” believing that armed struggle is not its obligatory attribute. Currently, one can find such definitions as information, economic, hybrid war, and many other options.
The General Staff is paying due attention to the discussion of this problem. In 2016, on the basis of the VA General Staff, a discussion was organized on the essence of the concept of “war” in modern conditions. This issue was considered at a meeting of the scientific council section of the Security Council. During the discussions, a general attitude was developed about the need to analyze the characteristic features and peculiarities of modern armed conflicts, to identify trends in their occurrence and development.
Hybrid replaced contactless
Such conflicts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries differ from each other in the composition of the participants, the weapons used, and the forms and methods of action of the troops. And at the same time, they do not go beyond the general content of the war, but include as components various types of struggle - both directly armed, and political, diplomatic, informational and others.
Now new features have emerged. This is a change in the ratio of the contribution of one or another type of struggle to the overall political success of the war, the overwhelming superiority of one of the parties in military strength and economic power.
Modern conflicts are characterized by a number of features.
Experience of the NATO operation in Yugoslavia, which ushered in the era of so-called non-contact or remote wars, did not become widespread. The reason is objective - geographical as well as economic restrictions are imposed on achieving the goals of the war. The factor of the cost of weapons and war in general began to play an important role in the choice of methods of conducting military operations.
A significant feature is the growing use of the latest robotic systems and unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes and actions.
New forms of using diverse forces and means have emerged. For example, during operations in Libya At the same time, a no-fly zone was created, a naval blockade was carried out in combination with joint actions of private military companies from NATO member states and armed opposition groups.
In the concepts of using the armies of leading states, gaining information superiority is declared an indispensable condition for military operations.
To solve this problem, the media and social networks are used. At the same time, the forces and means of information-psychological and information-technical influence are used. Thus, in the conflicts in the Middle East, for the first time, mobilization capabilities of social networks.
A clear example of the use of hybrid methods was conflict in Syria. It simultaneously used traditional and non-traditional actions of both a military and non-military nature.
At its first stage, internal Syrian contradictions were transformed into armed opposition protests. Then, with the support of foreign instructors and active information support, they were given an organized character.
Subsequently, terrorist groups supplied and directed from abroad entered into confrontation with government troops.
Hybrid actions are being actively introduced by the United States and NATO countries into practice in the international arena. This is largely due to the fact that this course of action does not fall under the definition of aggression.
The combination of such methods is called “hybrid warfare” in Western media. However, it is premature to use this term as an established one.
New perception of a familiar word
The analysis points to a number of trends indicating the transformation of armed conflicts at the beginning of the 21st century. Today, the blurring of the line between the state of war and peace is obvious.
The flip side of hybrid actions is new perception of peacetime when military or other open violent measures are not used against a particular state, but its national security and sovereignty are under threat and may be violated.
At the same time, the question of determining the essence of war is not closed; it is relevant and requires constant study and careful study.
For this purpose, the scientific and business program of the international military-technical forum "Army 2017" in August of this year there was a round table on the topic “Modern wars and armed conflicts: characteristic features and features”. AVN scientists must take an active part in this. It is necessary to continue work on interdepartmental standardization of military-political and military terms and definitions.
The growth of conflict potential in the world emphasizes the relevance of a number of tasks in the field of national defense.
High precision measures
The main one remains the same - guaranteed reflection of possible aggression against the Russian Federation and its allies from any direction. At the same time, in peacetime, during the implementation of strategic deterrence measures, it is necessary to ensure the neutralization of threats to the country's security, relying on available forces and means. In this regard, the role and importance of forecasting military dangers and threats is increasing, which is advisable to carry out in conjunction with the assessment of economic, information and other challenges.
Improving the capabilities of the Armed Forces is realized through the development of high-precision weapons and modern means of communication, reconnaissance, automated control and electronic warfare.
Currently, the Strategic Missile Forces are being equipped on a large scale with modern systems. The fleet is receiving new nuclear submarines with ballistic and cruise missiles that have no analogues in the world. Strategic aviation aircraft, our legendary Tu-160 and Tu-95MS missile carriers, are being actively modernized. This will make it possible to increase the equipment of the strategic nuclear forces with modern weapons to 90 percent by the end of 2020.
The strike potential of high-precision weapons in the Armed Forces will increase fourfold, which will ensure Russia's security along the entire perimeter of its borders.
By 2021, the share of modern weapons and military equipment in the Ground Forces will reach at least 70 percent. The Aerospace Forces will receive new generation aircraft, which will increase the combat capabilities of aviation by 1.5 times. The Navy will be supplied with modern ships equipped with long-range, high-precision missiles.
Robotics plays a significant role in increasing combat capabilities. Large-scale but justified use of RTK for various purposes will increase the efficiency of troop operations and ensure a significant reduction in personnel losses.
The science of preemption
Today, the Armed Forces are gaining combat experience in Syria. They received a unique opportunity to test and test new models of weapons and military equipment in difficult climatic conditions. It is necessary to continue to generalize the experience of using means of armed struggle in the Syrian campaign, to draw lessons for their refinement and modernization.
We must remember: victory is always achieved not only by the material, but also by the spiritual resources of the people, their unity and desire to resist aggression with all their might. The military-political leadership of the Russian Federation is making serious efforts to restore people's trust in the army. Today, the Armed Forces are reaching a fundamentally new level of combat readiness, and this is finding full support in society.
In the interests of further increasing their authority, it is important to develop connections between the army and society, and for this to improve the systems for training military personnel and patriotic education of youth.
Solving current national defense problems is impossible without their thorough and proactive elaboration. In this regard, it is worth focusing on the priority tasks of the Academy of Military Sciences.
First of all, this is the study of new forms of interstate confrontation and the development of effective ways to counter them.
An urgent task is to formulate scenarios and long-term forecasts for the development of the military-political and strategic situation in the most important regions of the world. It is necessary to quickly study the features of modern armed conflicts. Based on them, develop methods for the work of military command and control of troops in various conditions.
The problem of organizing and implementing regroupings of troops (forces) to remote theaters of operations requires a separate study. The general tasks of military science, which require further elaboration, do not lose their relevance.
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General
REFERENCE
Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov was born on September 8, 1955 in Kazan into a family of workers. Graduated from the Kazan Suvorov Military School (1971-1973), the Kazan Higher Tank Command School named after the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1973-1977), the Military Academy of Armored Forces named after Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Ya. Malinovsky (1984-1987), Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (1995-1997).
Military ranks
Lieutenant General (February 2002).
Colonel General (February 22, 2005).
Army General (February 20, 2013).
He served as a platoon and company commander, chief of staff of a battalion in the 80th Tank Regiment of the 90th Guards Tank Division of the Northern Group of Forces in Poland, chief of staff of a battalion in the Far Eastern Military District (1977-1984), chief of staff - deputy commander of a tank regiment, commander tank regiment, chief of staff - deputy commander (1987-1993) and commander (1993-1995) of the Guards Motorized Rifle Division in the Baltic Military District and the North-Western Group of Forces.
In August 1994, he led the withdrawal of the division to the Moscow Military District (the city of Yelnya). Since 1995 - studying at the academy. Since 1997, he served as 1st Deputy Commander of the 1st Guards Tank Army in the Moscow Military District (1997-1998), deputy commander, since February 1998, chief of staff, and since February 2001, commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army in the North Caucasus Military District.
Awards of the USSR and Russia
Hero of the Russian Federation (2016)
Order of St. George, IV degree
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree with swords (2014)
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree with swords
Order of Military Merit
Order of Honor
Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree
Medal "For Military Merit"
Medal "For Military Distinction"
Medal "For Military Valor" 1st class
Medal "60 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Medal "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth"
Medal "200 years of the Ministry of Defense"
Medal "For Distinction in Military Service" 1st class
Medal "For Impeccable Service" 2nd class
Medal "For Impeccable Service" 3rd class
Medal "For participation in the military parade on Victory Day"
Medal "For the Return of Crimea"
Medal "For strengthening the state information security system" 1st class
Medal "For Merit in Ensuring National Security"
Medal "For the Commonwealth in the Name of Salvation"
Honored Military Specialist of the Russian Federation (2009)
Foreign awards
Order of Friendship of Peoples (Republic of Belarus, 2010)
Order of the Army of Nicaragua (Nicaragua, 2013)
Medal “For Merit in the Field of Military Cooperation” (Azerbaijan, 2014)
Medal “Marshal Bagramyan” (Armenian Armed Forces, 2015)
Public awards
Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
He served as chief of staff of the Far Eastern Military District since March 2003, and since April 2005 - head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training and Service of the Armed Forces. In December 2006, he took up the post of chief of staff of the North Caucasus Military District.
From December 11, 2007 to February 5, 2009 - commander of the Leningrad Military District, from February 5, 2009 to December 23, 2010 - commander of the Moscow Military District.
On December 23, 2010, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Since April 26, 2012 - commander of the troops of the Central Military District. After the resignation of Anatoly Serdyukov from the post of Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on November 9, 2012, the new Minister of Defense S.K. Shoigu presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin the candidacy of Valery Gerasimov for the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
On November 9, 2012, he was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. Since November 13, 2012, he has been a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
During the absence of the Minister of Defense, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov is the Acting Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Organizer of the Russian military operation in Syria, which began in September 2015. For the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, in May 2016, by a closed decree of the President of Russia, Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov was awarded the highest state award - Hero of the Russian Federation.
According to a number of foreign military experts, he is considered the creator of the so-called “Gerasimov Doctrine,” which formed the basis of the Russian concept of a new generation of war.
On August 5, 2015, the military prosecutor’s office of Ukraine declared Valery Gerasimov “the main ideologist of the war in Donbass.” The Security Service of Ukraine reported that Gerasimov and ten other military personnel of the 98th Airborne Division of the Russian Federation were suspected of organizing, preparing and unleashing an armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine (based on the events near Ilovaisk). The Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv decided to arrest these 11 military personnel in absentia.
In turn, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to search for and arrest in absentia Valery Gerasimov and other Russian military personnel is a political and provocative decision, and the Security Service of Ukraine itself in this regard was called a “sanctuary of idiocy.”
2019-03-24T12:33:16+05:00 Sergey SinenkoDefense of the Fatherlandarmy, war, armed forces, hybrid war, information war, RussiaChief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on hybrid warfare A general meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences (AVS) was held at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. According to tradition, it was held in the form of a military-scientific conference. The topic of discussion was the organization of the country's defense in order to counter military and non-military threats. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces...Sergei Sinenko Sergei Sinenko [email protected] Author In the Middle of Russia
