“And the occupier of the couch is…”: the removal of General Anatoliy Kvashnin and the appointment of Russia’s new Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Colonel-General Yury Nikolaevich Baluevsky, (June–July 2004)

Abstract

The removal from power of the longest serving CGS in the post-1991 August coup history of the Russian Armed Forces in July 2004, General A V Kvashnin, did not come as a surprise to many observers; in some respects, it was long overdue. Kvashnin had been both fortunate and skilful in managing to avoid being the target of blame following a number of disasters to hit the Armed Forces during his tenure in office. His earlier intrigues against two Ministers of Defence–including the incumbent Minister, S Ivanov–had won him few allies and made him powerful enemies, as he sought the top job–Minister of Defence–for himself. S Ivanov, in attempting to rid himself of his all-powerful deputy, switched tactics, and began to attack the position of the General Staff and the post of CGS in the country’s defence system. As it became increasingly obvious to Kvashnin that this was a fight he was not going to win, he seems to have lost interest and eventually succumbed to the inevitable. His successor, Colonel-General Yu N Baluevsky, is a very different type of CGS, having spent the bulk of his career working in various Staff HQs. A more “thinking” CGS, it remains to be seen whether the new man will provide the Armed Forces with the necessary new strategic thinking required to meet the security demands of the 21st century.