Anatoly Alekseyevich Sidorov (; born 2 July 1958) is a retired

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

who was Chief of the Joint Staff of the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

from 2015 to 2023. Before that he commanded the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

between 2012 and 2015.

Biography

Anatoly Sidorov was born in Siva,

Perm Oblast Until 1 December 2005, Perm Oblast () was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Privolzhsky (Volga) Federal District. According to the results of the referendum held in October 2004, Perm Oblast was merged with Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug ...

on 2 July 1958. In 1975, he graduated from the Sverdlovsk Suvorov Military School. In 1979, he graduated from the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School. From 1979 to 1984, he served as commander of a reconnaissance platoon, commander of a reconnaissance company and chief of staff of a battalion in the

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

. From October 1984 to December 1986, Sidorov was the chief of staff of a battalion in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. As part of the , he served as chief of staff of a battalion in the of the . For the valor shown in the performance of combat missions, he was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

. From 1986 to 1988, he was the commander of a battalion in the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of First Republic of Armenia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic ...

. In 1991, Sidorov 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 ...

. After graduating from the academy, he served as deputy commander, chief of staff and commander of a motorized rifle regiment, chief of staff of the 469th Guards District Training Center of the Volga-Ural Military District from 1991 to 1998.

Further service

In 1995, Sidorov took part in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

in the

Chechen Republic Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and share ...

. In 2000, he graduated from the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the senior staff college of the Russian Armed Forces. The academy is located in Moscow, on 14 Kholzunova Lane. It was founded in 1936 as a Soviet inst ...

, and served 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 ...

as commander of a motorized rifle division, and was the deputy commander and chief of staff of the army. On 12 June 2006, was appointed commander of the

5th Combined Arms Army The 5th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Order of Zhukov Army (5-я гвардейская общевойсковая Краснознамённая, ордена Жукова армия) is a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Eastern Milita ...

. Sidorov received the rank of lieutenant general in 2007, with his official appointment to the rank conferred on 26 July 2007 in an event in the of the

Grand Kremlin Palace The Grand Kremlin Palace () is a building in the Moscow Kremlin. For much of the 19th century, it served as the official residence of the Russian emperor in Moscow, which was not then the capital of the Russian Empire. Designed by a team of arc ...

. In 2008, he was demoted to deputy commander of the district troops. On 22 October 2009, he was the Chief of Staff - 1st Deputy Commander of the Far Eastern Military District. A year later, in connection with the military-administrative reform in the Armed Forces and the abolition of the Far Eastern Military District, Sidorov took up a similar position in the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Eastern Military District ( Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction wi ...

, which he held until 2012. At the end of October 2012, Sidorov was appointed chief of staff - 1st deputy commander of the

, replacing Admiral

Nikolai Maksimov Nikolai Mikhailovich Maksimov (; ; born 15 May 1956) is a retired officer of the Russian Navy. He currently holds the rank of admiral in the reserve, and has most recently been head of the . Maksimov was born in the Ukrainian SSR in 1956, and ...

in this post. On 9 November 2012, Sidorov was appointed interim commander of the

, in connection with the appointment of the previous commander, Colonel-General

Arkady Bakhin Arkady Viktorovich Bakhin () is a retired military officer of the Russian Federation with the rank of General of the Army. Biography Bakhin was born 8 May 1956 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR. He graduated from the Moscow Higher Command School named ...

, to the post of 1st Deputy Minister of Defence of Russia.Новому командующему ЗВО вручили штандарт — Комсомольская правда
/ref> On 24 December 2012, by

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

of the President of Russia, Sidorov was appointed commander of the

. On 27 December, in the House of Officers of the Western Military District in Saint Petersburg, Sidorov, as the new commander, was presented with the standard of the commander of the troops of the district. He received it from the hands of his predecessor, Bakhin. On 20 February 2013, Sidorov was promoted to Colonel General.

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in Ju ...

experts had attributed that Sidorov was one of a number of Russians who were responsible for transporting the

Buk missile system The Buk (; "beech" (tree), ) is a family of self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter ...

to the territory of

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

and for launching the missile that shot down

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk missile system, Bu ...

on 17 July 2014.

Sanctions

He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. In September 2015, Sidorov was included in the Ukrainian sanctions list. The same month, the CSTO heads of state unanimously proposed the candidacy of Sidorov for the post of Chief of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. By the decree of the President of Russia of 10 November 2015, he was appointed Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, and took up his duties on 23 November 2015.Министр обороны России представил нового командующего войсками Западного военного округа : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации
/ref>Ъ-Новости - Анатолий Сидоров возглавил объединенный штаб ОДКБ
/ref>

Awards

* Order of Merit to the Fatherland, 4th class *

Family

Sidorov is married and has three daughters: Yekaterina, Viktoria, and Anastasia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidorov Anatoly 1958 births Living people People from Perm Krai Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Russian colonel generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War