Valery Gerasimov, who has served as Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces since November 2012, remains the central figure directing Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. His tenure, now stretching more than a decade, is unusually long by Russian standards: his immediate predecessor, Nikolai Makarov, held the post for only three years. Gerasimov commands a military apparatus that has been forced to pull troops from distant garrisons, including the Arctic, to feed the fighting in Ukraine.
The mechanics of this redeployment, carried out under his operational leadership, reveal the strains on a force fighting a conflict it did not anticipate against an adversary that has repeatedly targeted the general himself.
A Career Forged in the Soviet and Russian Military
Born in Kazan in 1955, Gerasimov climbed the ladder of the Soviet and later Russian military establishment over decades of service. He commanded the Moscow Military District from 2009 to 2010, then served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff before taking the top job. In January 2023, he was appointed commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, replacing General Sergei Surovikin.
Gerasimov is perhaps best known outside Russia for the concept that bears his name. In a 2013 article, he outlined what analysts now call the ‘Gerasimov Doctrine,’ a concept emphasizing hybrid warfare that blurs the line between military and non-military methods.
The doctrine encompasses information warfare, economic pressure, and political subversion alongside conventional force, reflecting a comprehensive approach to conflict long before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Under Gerasimov’s operational leadership, the Russian military has shifted forces from the Arctic and other far-flung regions to reinforce the front lines in Ukraine. The redeployments have been a key feature of Russia’s ability to sustain its campaign despite heavy losses.
Gerasimov himself has been a target of Ukrainian strikes. In July 2024, he survived a reported Ukrainian missile attack on a command post in Crimea.
The incident underscored the risks to senior Russian commanders as the war has evolved into a protracted grinding conflict.
Sanctions and Survival
Western sanctions have followed Gerasimov since 2014, the year Russia annexed Crimea. He has been under EU, UK, and US sanctions ever since, reflecting his central role in Moscow’s military decision-making.
The general remains in charge of a force that is fighting a war it did not expect to fight, using troops that had been stationed on the other side of the world. His longevity in post is remarkable: while his predecessor served just three years, Gerasimov has held the office for over a dozen, navigating multiple conflicts and an evolving strategic landscape. The financial and diplomatic consequences of these sanctions have constrained Russia’s military modernization and access to Western technology, yet Gerasimov continues to direct operations from the General Staff.
The war has also drawn attention to the historical figure who shares his surname: Dmitry Gerasimov, a 15th- and 16th-century Russian translator, diplomat, and scholar who bridged the intellectual gap between Muscovy and Renaissance Europe. The earlier Gerasimov studied Latin and German in Livonia before serving as an interpreter and envoy on missions to Emperor Maximilian I, various European courts, and the Vatican.
His 1525 embassy to Pope Clement VII sought Muscovite participation in the anti-Ottoman League. Dmitry Gerasimov is best known for translating religious and classical works, including Hieronymus’ commentary on the Vulgate and Aelius Donatus’ Latin grammar, which he compared to Church Slavonic to develop early Slavic grammatical terminology. He also provided some of the first detailed accounts of Russian geography to Western scholars, influencing 16th-century maps of Muscovy.
A Name with Historical Echoes
The work of Dmitry Gerasimov matters because it offered early Western scholars a window into Muscovy’s political and geographical landscape at a time when Europe’s understanding of Russia was still limited. By translating key texts and relaying firsthand knowledge, he helped shape early modern European perceptions of Russia. While Valery Gerasimov operates in a vastly different era and context, the parallel legacy of a figure named Gerasimov who stood at the intersection of Russia and the outside world is a historical curiosity.
For now, the modern Gerasimov remains the man in charge of a military fighting a protracted war, drawing on troops from Arctic garrisons and other distant posts, all while facing ongoing sanctions and surviving assassination attempts. His tenure, already the longest for a Chief of the General Staff in modern Russian history, shows no sign of ending as the conflict in Ukraine grinds on.
