Colonel General Vladimir Valentinovich Chirkin (russian: Владимир Валентинович Чиркин, born 12 October 1955 in
Khasavyurt
Khasavyurt (russian: Хасавю́рт; av, Хасаюрт; ce, Хаси-Эвл, ''Xasi-Evl''; kum, Хасав-ю́рт, ''Xasav-yurt'') is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. Population:
History
It was founded in 1846 and granted ...
,
Dagestan, Russia) is a Russian military officer and a former commander of
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
(26 April 2012 – 2 December 2013).
Biography
Chirkin studied at the
Kazan Suvorov Military School
The Kazan Suvorov Military School (KzSVU) (Russian language, Russian: Казанское суворовское военное училище) is a Russian military academy based in Tatarstan. It serves as one of the country's many Suvorov Militar ...
from 1971 to 1974 and the Konev Higher Joint Command School in
Alma Ata
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...
from 1974–1978. He entered military service in 1978. From 1978 to 1983, he served with
Soviet forces in Germany. He also served in the Baltic region, the Russian Far East, and the North Caucasus, eventually as commander of the
36th Combined Arms Army
The 36th Combined Arms Army is a combined arms ( field) army of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Eastern Military District (Military Unit Number 05776).
History
The army was formed in 1997 from the 55th Army Corps at Borzya in the Siberi ...
(2003–2007), before becoming deputy commander of the
Moscow Military District
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...
in 2007. He was Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the
Trans-Volga-Ural Military District from December 2008, and Commander of the
Siberian Military District from January 2010. He then served as Commander of the
Central Military District
The Central Military District (Russian: Центральный военный округ) is a military district of Russia.
It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the ...
beginning in December 2010 before being named commander of Ground Forces.
[
His other military education includes 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 ...
, from which he graduated in 1988 and the which he graduate from in 2000.[Чиркин Владимир Валентинович]
Russian Ministry of Defense
Awards
His awards include the Order "For Service Before the Fatherland," Fourth Class (Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством» IV степени), The Order of Courage (Oрден Мужества), the Order "For Military Merit" («За военные заслуги»), and the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR," third class (Орден «За службу Родине в Вооружённых Силах СССР» III степени), as well as other medals.[
]
Controversies
In December 2013, Chirkin was removed as the commander of the Russian Ground Forces by Vladimir Putin for bribery charges. Subsequently (August 2015), he was sentenced to five years in a labor colony. He was also stripped of his military rank of "colonel-general" and most of his state awards. In December 2015, this sentence was cancelled by a higher court.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirkin, Vladimir
Russian military leaders
Living people
1955 births
Frunze Military Academy alumni
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni