DUSHANBE, February 18, 2013, Asia-Plus — Colonel General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, heading a Russian military delegation is expected to arrive in Dushanbe today on a two-day visit.
An official source at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan says Valery Gerasimov is expected to meet with high ranking Tajik state officials to discuss military and technical cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation.
According to him, Gerasimov is scheduled to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev.
The Chief of the General Staff is the chief of staff of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. He is appointed by the President of Russia, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The position dates to the period of the Russian Empire.
Valery Gerasimov (born September 8, 1955) is the current Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, and first Deputy Defense Minister, replacing Nikolay Makarov. He was appointed by President Vladimir Putin on November 9, 2012
Born in Kazan, he graduated from the Kazan Suvorov Military School (1971-1973), the Kazan Higher Tank Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1973-1977), the Malinovsky Military Academy of Armored Forces (1984-1987), and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1995-1997).
Gerasimov was appointed Chief of General Staff following the dismissal of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on 6 November 2012. The previous Chief of General Staff, Army General Nikolay Makarov, was seen as close to Serdyukov and was seen by commentators as likely to be replaced by new Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu. It has been reported that Makarov resigned, but he was formally dismissed by President Vladimir Putin. Other changes were the dismissal of Alexander Sukhorukov from the position of First Deputy Defense Minister and his replacement by Colonel-General Arkady Bakhin, formerly commander of the Western Military District. Aerospace Defense Forces commander Colonel General Oleg Ostapenko was also promoted to Deputy Defense Minister.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is the military staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational management of the armed forces under the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The staff is organized by functions, with each directorate and operating agency overseeing an area. Working with the staffs of each of the services, the Main Operations Directorate drafts plans for strategic operations for the Supreme High Command. When the headquarters of the Supreme High Command approves the plans, the General Staff issues them to operational commanders as Supreme High Command directives. The General Staff Academy is responsible for training officers for the General Staff.
