Viktor Vladimirovich Gulevich (; , born 14 May 1969) is a Belarusian general who was the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus from 2021-2024.

Biography

He was born in 1969 in the village of Bolshaya Pader in the Slutsk District, of the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

. After graduating from high school, he entered the

Moscow Higher Military Command School The Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School ''" Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR"'' (; abbreviated to MVOKU) is a higher military educational institution of the Russian Armed Forces. Alumni of the school have served with the Soviet Army and the Russi ...

, which he graduated with honors in 1990. He began his service as a platoon commander 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 ...

. Then he served 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 ...

. After the

collapse of the USSR The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, he returned to a newly independent

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, where he again commanded a platoon and rose to the rank of regimental commander in the

103rd Guards Airborne Division The 103rd Separate Guards Airborne Brigade is an airborne brigade of the Belarusian Special Forces. Its predecessor unit was the 103rd Guards Airborne Division (), which was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops. It was established in 1946 an ...

. In 2002, he graduated with a gold medal from the Command and Staff Faculty of the

Military Academy of Belarus Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus (, ) is higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Republic of Belarus and the leading institution in the education system of training, retraining and advanced traini ...

. He then served in various command positions. On 14 February 2011, Colonel Gulevich led the Combat Training Department of the

38th Guards Air Assault Brigade The 38th Separate Guards Red Banner Air Assault Brigade is a Special forces brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus. It is currently based in Brest. The brigade was originally formed from the elements of the disbanded 105th Guards Vienna Airbor ...

. In 2017 he graduated from the Faculty of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, and in 2018 he defended his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

thesis. In February 2020, he was appointed commander of the

Western Operational Command Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. That June, he was promoted to major general. On 11 March 2021, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff, succeeding Alexander Volfovich. Gerasimov and Gulevich 01

In March 2022, Ukrainian sources reported his resignation, and posted what is claimed to be his resignation letter. The Belarusian Defence Ministry stated that it was not possible for Gulevich to resign, because the right to dismiss him was held by the Commander-in-chief. The Ministry stated that Belarusian soldiers were fully performing their duties, on Belarusian territory.

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 ...

. In 2022, Gulevich was included in the black list of the EU and in the sanctions lists of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Ukraine and Australia.

Awards

* Honored Specialist Armed Forces of Belarus (March 5, 2019) * Order "For Service to the Motherland" III degree (June 24, 2012) * Medal "For Flawless Service" I (August 16, 2018), II, and III degrees

Personal life

He is married, with his wife Victoria Lvovna Gulevich serving as a medical instructor and a signalman in the

. Together they have two children: Sergei and Anya.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulevich, Viktor 1969 births Belarusian generals Government of Belarus Living people Soviet Army officers Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Military personnel from Minsk Chiefs of the General Staff (Belarus)