Leonid Sokolov
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s appointment of Colonel General Andrey Mordvichev as Commander in Chief of Russia’s Ground Forces highlights tensions in the Kremlin’s political-military leadership while sidelining critics of notorious Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov.
The concurrent sentencing of popular Major General Ivan Popov and lesser-known cases involving Generals Gennady Anashkin and Mikhail Teplinsky reveal growing internal Russian military fractures and underscore Putin’s tight yet strained control over the country’s military leadership.
Mordvichev’s success and the overall stability of Russia’s military command hierarchy will hinge on how well he balances loyalty to Putin with the operational demands and frustrations of field commanders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent appointment of Colonel General Andrey Mordvichev as Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s Ground Forces highlights the Kremlin’s intentions and tensions within the political-military leadership. Pro-Kremlin Russian media and Russian military bloggers label Mordvichev, aged 49, as a younger-generation “breakthrough general” (Argumenty i Fakty; Interfax, May 22). Even some Western analysts tend to agree that Mordvichev’s elevation signals preparations for significant offensives (Radio Svoboda, May 16). Beneath this surface-level narrative, however, Mordvichev’s appointment indicates a deeper struggle for Putin’s presidential control over the Russian military.
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