Valeriy Gerasimov

Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov is a Russian army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Defence Minister, replacing Nikolay Makarov. He was appointed by president Vladimir Putin on 9 November 2012. Gerasimov was born in Kazan, Tatar ASSR on 8 September 1955. He graduated from the Kazan Suvorov Military School (1971-1973), the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy (1984-1987), and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1995-1997).