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 Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War and currently serves as the commander of the Western Military District. After returning from Syria, he became the Deputy Chief of the General Staff before being appointed commander of the Eastern Military District in November 2017. He was also awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2016 by a directive of the President.

Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov Александр Журавлёв
Born	December 5, 1965 Golyshmanovo, Tyumen Oblast, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Soviet Union 1982–1991  Russia 1991–present
Service/branch	Soviet Army  Russian Ground Forces
Years of service	1982–present
Rank	Colonel General
Commands held	Group of Forces in Syria Eastern Military District Western Military District
Battles/wars	Russian military intervention in Syria
Awards	Hero of the Russian Federation Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree Order of Suvorov Order of Military Merit

Biography

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov with Eastern Military District Commander Zhuralvyov at the Vostok 2018 military exercise

President Putin shaking hands with Zhuralvyov

He was born in the town of Golyshmanovo, in the Tyumen Oblast, in 1965. In 1982, Zhuralvyov finished secondary school and joined the Soviet Army. He graduated from the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School in 1986 and the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy in 1996. Finally, in 2008 Zhuravlyov graduated from the General Staff Academy. During his service, he was stationed in Czechoslovakia (1986–1991), the Volga (1991–1994), Far Eastern (1994–2006), North Caucasus (2008–2008), Central (2010–2015), and Southern Military Districts (2015). He has served as the chief of staff of the 58th Army and as commander of the 2nd Guards Tank Army before being transferred to the Southern Military District in 2015. Promoted to lieutenant general in 2014.[1]

In July 2016, Lieutenant General Alexander Zhuravlyov was appointed as the commander of the Russian military forces in Syria, replacing Colonel General Aleksandr Dvornikov. He held this post until December 2016, when he was replaced by Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov.[2] For his service in Syria he was given the title of Hero of Russia.[1]

Since leaving Syria, Zhuravlyov was promoted to colonel general and appointed Deputy Chief of General Staff. He met with the Vice Chief of Defense Staff of the United Kingdom, General Sir Gordon Messenger, in February 2017 to discuss renewed military cooperation in order to prevent any incidents.[3][4] On 22 November 2017, Zhuravlyov was appointed commander of the Eastern Military District, replacing Colonel General Sergey Surovikin, who transferred to command the Russian Aerospace Forces.[5]

In January 2018, he once again took command of the contingent of Russian military forces stationed in Syria, having taken over from General Sergey Surovikin.[6] In November 2018 he was appointed commander of the Western Military District.[7]

References

1. Smirnov, V. Журавлёв Александр Александрович (in Russian). Warheroes.ru. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
2. Группировку в Сирии возглавил командующий Западным округом генерал Картаполов (in Russian). Lenta.ru. Published 6 January 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
3. Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov had a meeting with his British counterpart Gordon Messenger. Russian Ministry of Defense. Published 28 February 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
4. Britain and Russia discuss easing tensions, avoiding military accidents - Ifax. Reuters. Published 28 February 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
5. Pinchuk, Alexander; Khudoleyev, Viktor (29 November 2017). Штандарты в надёжных руках [Standards in Safe Hands]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2017.
6. В Минобороны опровергли сообщения о замене командующего российской группировкой в Сирии Interfax, 21 February 2018.
7. "Бывший командующий российскими войсками в Сирии возглавил Западный военный округ" (in Russian). Kommersant. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.