Sergey Yuryevich Kuzovlev (Russian: Сергей Юрьевич Кузовлев; born 7 January 1967) is a Russian military officer. , he holds the rank of

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

, and commands the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

Biography

Sergey Kuzovlev was born in Michurinsk on 7 January 1967. He studied at school number 21 in the city of Michurinsk, Tambov Oblast, from 1974 to 1984. In 1990, he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School (6th company). Kuzovlev commanded the (military unit 21617, Totsky District,

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (russian: Оренбургская область, ''Orenburgskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name ''Chkalov Oblast'' () ...

) of the

27th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Military Unit Number 35100)Michael Holm27th Guards Motorised Rifle Division/ref> was a Red Army rifle Division (military), division in World War II which later became a Soviet Army motor rifle division. His ...

, and served in the First and Second Chechen wars. He graduated from the Combined Arms Academy. From February 2005 to July 2008, he commanded the 15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the Volga-Urals Military District. In May 2005, he was promoted to a colonel. In 2008 he entered the Military Academy of the General Staff,after graduating in July 2010 he was appointed commander of the 18th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. At the beginning of 2014, he was appointed chief of staff of the

58th Combined Arms Army The 58th Combined Arms Army (russian: 58-я общевойсковая армия) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered at Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, within Russia's Southern Military District. It was formed in 1941 as pa ...

of the

, and on 22 February of the same year, he was promoted to major general. At the end of August 2015, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that Kuzovlev had commanded the Russian forces in the Luhansk People’s Republic's 2nd Army Corps from autumn 2014 to winter 2015, during the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russian sources denied that statement. From July 2015 to August 2016, Kuzovlev was the Commander of the

20th Guards Combined Arms Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after th ...

of the Western Military District. From August 2016 to January 2017, he was the Commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District. In March 2017, Kuzovlev was appointed commander of the newly formed

8th Guards Combined Arms Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a successor ...

of the Southern Military District. On 10 June 2017, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant general. In February 2019, he was appointed Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District. From November 2020 to February 2021, Kuzovlev was the Commander of the Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Russia in

Syria 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 ...

. In June 2021, Kuzovlev became the ex officio Acting Commander of the Southern Military District. On 18 February 2021, Kuzovlev was promoted to the rank of

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

. On 13 December 2022, Kuzolev officially became the commander of the Western Military District. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Kuzovlev was commander of the troops of the Western Military District for slightly more than a month, until 26 December 2022. It was announced on 23 January 2023 that Kuzovlev had been transferred to command the Southern Military District, being succeeded by Lieutenant General

Yevgeny Nikiforov Yevgeny Valeryevich Nikiforov (russian: Евгений Валерьевич Никифоров; born 1 January 1970), is a Russian military officer who is currently the commander of the Western Military District since 23 January 2023. He had prev ...

in the Western Military District. During his command, the

Wagner Group rebellion On 23 June 2023, the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, engaged in a major uprising against the Russia under Vladimir Putin, Government of Russia. It marked the climax of the Wagner Group–Russian Ministry of Defence conflict, W ...

broke out on 23-24 June 2023, which saw the mercenary group briefly occupy his headquarters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzovlev, Sergey 1967 births Living people People from Michurinsk Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School alumni Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I class Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II class Russian colonel generals Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war Russian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine