Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gab TV, GETTR
Almost three years since the last look. Eight of 12 commanders have been replaced in that span. Four holdovers plus one have been in place for two or three years. The remaining seven were appointed sometime in 2020.
The current rundown of armies, headquarters, MD/OSK, and commanders is:
1st TA…Bakovka…Western…General-Lieutenant Sergey Kisel.
6th CAA…Agalatovo…Western…General-Lieutenant Vladislav Yershov.
20th CAA…Voronezh…Western…General-Lieutenant Andrey Ivanayev.
8th CAA…Novocherkassk…Southern…General-Lieutenant Andrey Sychevoy.
49th CAA…Stavropol…Southern…General-Lieutenant Yakov Rezantsev.
58th CAA…Vladikavkaz…Southern…General-Lieutenant Mikhail Zusko.
2nd CAA…Samara…Central…General-Lieutenant Andrey Kolotovkin.
41st CAA…Novosibirsk…Central…General-Lieutenant Sergey Ryzhkov.
36th CAA…Ulan Ude…Eastern…General-Major Valeriy Solodchuk.
29th CAA…Chita…Eastern…General-Lieutenant Roman Berdnikov.
35th CAA…Belogorsk…Eastern…General-Major Aleksandr Sanchik.
5th CAA…Ussuriysk…Eastern…General-Major Aleksey Podivilov.
Army command is a significant milestone. These officers have moved from large tactical formations to the operational level of command. They have (or will receive) pogony with two stars and assignment to at least one higher post.
They are men of the early 1970s. Only three — Sanchik, Sychevoy, and Ryzhkov — were born in the late 1960s. Yershov and Berdnikov are the youngest at 46 and 47 respectively. Sanchik and Ryzhkov the oldest at 55 and 53.
All spent time as chief of staff, first deputy commander of an army before getting an army command of their own. Rezantsev and Ryzhkov are on their second army commands. Rezantsev commanded the 41st and 49th; Ryzhkov the 58th and 41st.
Their experience of war looks like this:
| 1st Chechen | 2nd Chechen | Georgia | Crimea | Donbass | Syria | |
| Kisel | X | X | X | |||
| Yershov | X | |||||
| Ivanayev | X | X | X | |||
| Sychevoy | X | |||||
| Rezantsev | X | |||||
| Zusko | X | X | ||||
| Kolotovkin | X | X | ||||
| Ryzhkov | X | X | X | |||
| Solodchuk | X | X | ||||
| Berdnikov | ||||||
| Sanchik | X | |||||
| Podivilov | X |
Handicapping the prospects of these generals is difficult except to say that relative youth provides more chances for career advancement.
More enlightening is what happens when they move beyond the army level of command. Next we’ll look at what’s become of their predecessors.
