Aleksandr Viktorovich Galkin (Russian: Александр Викторович Галкин; born on 22 March 1958), is a Russian military leader, a colonel general as of 2011, who was the Commander of the

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () 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 North Caucasus region of the country ...

from 2010 to 2016.

Biography

Aleksandr Galkin was born in Ordzhonikidze (present-day

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

) on 22 March 1958. In 1979, he graduated from the . He served in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

and in the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

. He rose from the commander of a motorized rifle platoon to the commander of a motorized rifle battalion. In 1990, he graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), 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 (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

. From 1990 to 1992, he continued to serve in the

Transcaucasian The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

and Far Eastern military districts as deputy commander and commander of a motorized rifle regiment. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chief of staff and a deputy commander of a motorized rifle division. From 1997 to 2001, he served as commander of a motorized rifle division. In 2003, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He served as the Deputy Commander of the 41st Army, and the Chief of Staff, as the First Deputy Commander of the 36th Army. On 3 January 2006, Galkin was appointed commander of the 41st Army in the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

. On 8 April 2008, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Siberian Military District. On 3 December 2008, he was appointed Chief of Staff, the First Deputy Commander of the Siberian Military District. On 13 January 2010, Galkin was appointed Commander of

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included t ...

. On 10 December 2010, by decree of the President of Russia, he was appointed commander of the troops of the

, due to the massive transformation of all Russian military districts in 2010. On 11 June 2011, Galkin was awarded the military rank of Colonel General. On 17 March 2014, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

included Galkin in the sanctions list of persons whose assets are frozen in the EU and in respect of whom visa restrictions have been introduced. At the end of August 2015, the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

announced that, through the headquarters of the Southern Military District, headed by Galkin, the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the military staff of the Russian Armed Forces. It is the central organ of the military command of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational command of the arme ...

had led Russian troops in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. In June 2016, Galkin was relieved of his post as commander of the Southern Military District. Since January 2017, he has continued to serve in the central office of the

Russian Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (; MOD) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The President of Russia is the Commander-in-Chief of the forces and directs the activity of the ministry. The Minister of Defence exerci ...

as an Assistant to the Minister of Defence.Министр обороны России представил нового командующего войсками Южного военного округа : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации
/ref>

Family

Galkin is married with two children. His son,

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

, is a judge of the Southern District Military Court.Указ Президента РФ от 28.05.2014 № 373 «О НАЗНАЧЕНИИ СУДЕЙ ВОЕННЫХ СУДОВ»

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galkin, Aleksandr 1958 births Living people Russian colonel generals People from Vladikavkaz Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions