Moscow Rejuvenating General Officer Corps in Russia a Decade after Kyiv Did the Same in Ukraine

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 2 – Over the last several months, Moscow has replaced in its top military positions officers 70 and over with little experience in battle with men in their 40s and 50s who have such experience and prefer to be near the scene of battle rather than at headquarters far away.

            This is one of the consequences of the war in Ukraine and echoes is similar to what happened at the start of World War II when Stalin replaced older commanders with little experience of modern warfare with younger men who had such experience and who also worked more closely with their subordinates.

            But it also echoes what took place in Ukraine a decade ago, when Kyiv replaced its most senior commanders and appointed younger generals with more direct experience in combat and a more modern understanding of warfare, according to Moscow commentators (versia.ru/vooruzhyonnyj-konflikt-na-ukraine-privyol-k-omolazhivaniyu-generaliteta).

            The Versiya news service article gives details on the officers who have been promoted to top command positions and contrasts them with the much older generals whom they replaced. And it argues that the experiences and style of the new men will allow for the transformation of the Russian army.

            Although Moscow commentators aren’t saying so, that change in Ukraine gave Kyiv an additional advantage in resisting Putin’s expanded invasion. But it is obvious that behind their calling attention to what Moscow is now doing, they hope that the rejuvenation of Russia’s general officer corps will put Russia in a better position to achieve its goals.