Sukhrab Akhmedov (born 1974) is an officer in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. He held the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and commanded the 20th Combined Arms Army until May 2024.

Personal life and education

Akhmedov was born on 1974 in

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

, in the

Checheno-Ingush ASSR The Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; inh, Нохч-ГӀалгӀай Автономе Советий Социализма Республика, Noxç-Ġalġay Avtonome Sovetiy Socializma Respublika; russian: Чече́но-И ...

, though with origins from ,

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

. He graduated from the

Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School The Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School (russian: Новосибирское высшее военное командное училище) is Russian higher military school conducting Military commissioning schools in Russia, commissioned ...

in 1996, starting his military service 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 ...

. In 2005, he graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Akhmedov is married to Margarita Vladimirovna and has three children, two daughters and a son.

Career

He was the commander of the

36th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 36th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade is an infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, which traces its heritage to the creation of the 38th Guards Rifle Division from the 4th Airborne Corps during World War II. The division gained its ...

before taking command of the 155th Separate Marine Brigade in 2009. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine from 2022, he was commander of coastal troops in southern Ukraine. The brigade was employed in the

Battle of Vuhledar The battle of Vuhledar is an ongoing military engagement, part of the Battle of Donbas (2022–present), battle of Donbas during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, around the town of Vuhledar in western Donetsk Oblast, near the pre-invasion line o ...

, where Russian forces took heavy losses. Following the campaign, complaints surfaced from surviving marines that poor military leadership was a cause of the enormous losses. Public information surfaced in December 2022 that Akhmedov could be removed from his position as a result. Following these rumors, Russian high command discounted the allegations of leadership inadequacies and failures from November, and by December,

Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...

reported that they had information that Akmedov would be promoted. By June 2023, Akmedov had been promoted to

and given command of the 20th Combined Arms Army. Russian sources reported that a division of the 20th had suffered about 200 casualties (100 killed, 100 wounded) in June 2023 from Ukrainian artillery while they were assembled together near Kreminna for two hours waiting for Akhmedov to deliver a motivational speech. He was heavily criticized for this by Russian military bloggers, including a call for responsible commanders to be shot in front of their formations for such failures. In May 2024, Akhmedov was removed from his post as the commander of 20th army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhmedov, Sukhrab 1974 births Living people Russian Navy personnel People from Grozny Frunze Military Academy alumni Russian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian major generals