Andrey Nikolaevich Serdyukov (; born 4 March 1962) is a Russian Airborne Forces

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 commander of the Russian Airborne Forces from 2016 to 2022. He also commanded the Operational Group of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria from 2022 to 2023 and has been the 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 ...

since 2023. Serdyukov served in the

Soviet Airborne Forces The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed b ...

as a junior officer and rose to battalion command. 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 ...

and became a deputy regimental commander in the Russian Airborne Troops and then a regimental commander. Serdyukov fought 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 ...

and served as a deputy brigade commander in Kosovo, participating in the Incident at Pristina airport. Between 2002 and 2003 he led the

138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 69th Guards Motor Rifle Krasnoe Selo Order of Lenin Red Banner Division (, Military Unit Number, MUN 02511) is a formation (military), formation of the Russian Ground Forces. It is stationed in the Leningrad Military District, in the village o ...

and in 2004 took command of the 106th Guards Airborne Division. After graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 2009, Serdyukov became deputy commander of the 5th Red Banner Army, taking command of the army in 2011. In 2013, he became deputy commander and then chief of staff 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 ...

. While in this position, Serdyukov led troops in the

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

and commanded Russian troops in the Donbass. He became commander of the Russian Airborne Troops in October 2016 and was replaced in June 2022 by Mikhail Teplinsky.

Early life and Soviet military career

According to official Russian sources, Serdyukov was born on 4 March 1962 in Uglegorsky,

Tatsinsky District Tatsinsky District () is an administrativeLaw #340-ZS and municipalLaw #251-ZS district ( raion), one of the forty-three in Rostov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative center i ...

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

. Other sources state he was born in Amvrosiivka. In 1983, he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. He became commander of a reconnaissance platoon of the regimental reconnaissance company in the 104th Guards Airborne Division. Serdyukov became deputy company commander, company commander, chief of staff, deputy battalion commander, and then a battalion commander.

Career in the Russian Armed Forces

In 1993, Serdyukov graduated from the

. He became deputy commander of a regiment in the 76th Guards Airborne Division. Serdyukov fought in the

. In 1995 he took command of the 237th Guards Airborne Regiment in the division. Between 1997 and 1998 he was chief of staff, deputy commander, and commander of the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment in the division. He was later deputy commander of the division. Serdyukov was for one year a deputy brigade commander of Russian units in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. In Kosovo, he participated in the Incident at Pristina airport, a standoff between the Russian troops and NATO peacekeeping forces. Serdyukov served two one-year rotations in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, 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 Federa ...

. On 10 March 2002, Serdyukov became acting commander of the

in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. He was confirmed in the post on 11 July 2002, and commanded the brigade until 9 June 2003. From June 2004 to 2007, Serdyukov was commander of the 106th Guards Airborne Division.

General staff (2009)

After his 2009 graduation from the Military Academy of the General Staff, Serdyukov became deputy commander of the 5th Red Banner Army. He took command of the army in January 2011. In February 2013, Serdyukov became deputy commander of the

. On 4 October 2013, Serdyukov became chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Southern Military District.

Crimea and Donbass (2014-2015)

Serdyukov led Russian forces in the spring 2014

. Using the code name "Sedov", Serdyukov commanded the grouping of Russian troops in the Donbass in August 2015. As of June 2022, Serdyukov was listed in the Australian "Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons - Ukraine) List 2014".

Commander airborne troops (2016-2019)

On 4 October 2016, Serdyukov was appointed commander of the Russian Airborne Troops, replacing Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov. He was presented the Airborne flag on 10 October by defense minister

Sergey Shoygu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Security Council since 2024. He served ...

On 15 September 2017, Serdyukov was seriously injured during an accident on the R21 highway in

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

while supervising Airborne exercises: a Chevrolet Lanos smashed into his minivan, rolling it over. The crash was reported in the Russian media four days later, with Serdyukov reported to be in "satisfactory condition" with a serious craniocerebral trauma and fracture of the back; he was taken to the intensive care unit of the 1469th Naval Military Hospital of the

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

. Airborne Troops deputy commander Major General Vladimir Kochetkov also suffered fractures, while the driver of the passenger car was killed. Serdyukov recovered by 15 November, when he chaired a meeting of the Military Council of the Airborne Troops.

Syria (2019)

From 10 April 2019 to late September 2019, he was the Commander of the troops for the

Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the war against the Islamic State , image = , image_size = , border ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

CSTO Peacekeepers to Kazakhstan (2022)

On January 7, 2022, he was appointed Commander of the CSTO peacekeeping forces in Kazakhstan.

Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)

On 2 February 2022, Serdyukov was rumoured by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' to be commander of Russian troops that would be sent into Ukraine, if such an action would be taken. On 19 June 2022, it was reported by Odesa military-civilian spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk that

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

had sacked Serdyukov for his doomed bid to take Hostomel airfield in which few of the invading soldiers survived. This was confirmed by Russian media reports. He was replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky. After his dismissal, Serdyukov was sent to Syria to command the Russian Group of Forces in that country.

CSTO Chief of Staff

In November 2023, he was appointed chief of joint staff of the CSTO.

Sanctions

He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 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 ...

Awards

Serdyukov has received the following awards. *

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

(2016) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

3rd class and 4th class (with Swords) *

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

* Order of Courage * Order of Honour * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR 3rd class * Order of Military Merit * Honoured Military Specialist of the Russian Federation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serdyukov, Andrey 1962 births Living people Russian colonel generals People from Tatsinsky District Personnel of the Soviet Airborne Forces Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Frunze Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School alumni Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Heroes of the Russian Federation People of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war Russian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) Commanders of the Russian Airborne Forces