Roman Borisovich Berdnikov (russian: Роман Борисович Бердников; born 31 August 1974) is a Russian lieutenant general and current Commander of the Western Military District as of October 3, 2022. He previously commanded the

Russian military intervention in Syria {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the military intervention against ISIL , image = , image_size = , border = , caption = To ...

. He commanded the 59th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade and, subsequently, the

29th Combined Arms Army The Soviet Red Army's 29th Army was a field army of the Red Army and it is presently part of the Russian Ground Forces. History It was first formed in July 1941 in the Moscow Military District on the basis of 30th Rifle Corps. The 245th, 252nd ...

Biography

Roman Borisovich Berdnikov was born on 31 August 1974 in the town of

Kamen-na-Obi Kamen-na-Obi (russian: Ка́мень-на-Оби́), known until 1933 as Kamen (), is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Ob River northwest of Barnaul, the administrative center of the krai. As of the 2010 Census, i ...

, Altai Territory. From 1981 to 1989 he studied at the city school number 4. In 1989 he entered the

Suvorov Military School The Suvorov Military Schools (russian: Суворовское военное училище) are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on mil ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. He graduated in 1991 and immediately joined the Moscow Higher Military Command School, wherefrom he graduated in 1995. He married in 1993 as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

. He also participated in the

1995 Moscow Victory Day Parades The Moscow Victory Day Parades of 1995 ( rus, Парад Победы, r= Parad Pobedy) were two military parades held on 9 May 1995 to commemorate the historic 50th anniversary golden jubilee of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Uni ...

. After commissioning, Berdnikov began service as a motor rifle platoon commander in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, rising to the rank of

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of a motor rifle regiment there. Berdnikov graduated from the Combined Arms Academy in 2003. After commanding a regiment for 2.5 years, Berdnikov became a deputy brigade commander. He took command of the 59th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the

Eastern Military District The Eastern Military District (Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction within the Far Eastern Federal ...

in February 2012 and was promoted to the rank of major general on 11 June 2014. He continued commanding the brigade until August 2014, when he joined the Military Academy of the General Staff. Upon graduation, he was appointed commander of the

on 4 March 2019 where his earnings were declared as 3,674,904.53 rubles (equivalent to roughly 56,000 US dollars), about a million more rubles than the previous year. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general on 10 December 2020. In October 2021, he was appointed Commander of the Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the

Syrian Arab Republic Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Berdnikov was still in Syria as of 9 May 2022, when he reviewed the Victory Day Parade at

Khmeimim Air Base Khmeimim Air Base (Russian: Хмеймим), also Hmeimim Air Base, is a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. The airbase shares some airfield faciliti ...

. In early June 2022, rumours spread that Berdnikov was killed in Ukraine in the course of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

, although some sources argue that the fatality was that of general Roman Kutuzov, whose death was confirmed by Russian media on 5 June. According to unconfirmed media reports, on 28 September 2022 he was appointed Commander of the Russia’s Western Military District, replacing Colonel General

Alexander Zhuravlyov Colonel General Alexander Alexandrovich Zhuravlyov (russian: Александр Александрович Журавлёв; born 5 December 1965) is a Russian Ground Forces officer who has commanded the military force in Syria during the Russ ...

Awards

* Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class with swords * Order of Alexander Nevsky * Order of Military Merit *

Medal of Suvorov The "Medal of Suvorov" (russian: «Медаль Суворова») is a state decoration of the Russian Federation awarded to ground troops for courage in combat. It is named in honour of Russian field marshal Count Alexander Suvorov (1729–18 ...

* Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berdnikov, Roman Borisovich 1979 births Living people People from Altai Krai Russian lieutenant generals Eastern Ukraine offensive Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni