Nikolai Makarov

General of the Army Nikolai Yegorovich Makarov (born 7 October 1949) is a Russian retired military officer who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defence from 2008 to 2012.

Makarov was born in the Ryazan Oblast and graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School in 1971. After becoming a Soviet Army officer he commanded motorized rifle units from the platoon to the division level before becoming the chief of staff of the Joint Group of Russian Forces in Tajikistan in 1993. He held other senior posts, including as commander of the 2nd Guards Tank Army and later the Ground and Coastal Forces of the Baltic Fleet, a new formation that he was tasked with organizing on the basis of the former 11th Guards Army. From 1999 to 2002 Makarov was the chief of staff of the Moscow Military District, also briefly serving as its acting commander in 2001, and from 2002 he led the Siberian Military District until 2007.

He was the Director of Armaments of the Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense from 2007 to 2008, when he was appointed the Chief of the General Staff to assist the new Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov with implementing his major reform of the Russian military. As the Chief of the General Staff he oversaw the Russo-Georgian War in 2008 and implemented the military reform, which also became known as the "Serdyukov-Makarov reform." The largest change it brought about was the reorganization of the Russian Ground Forces from a division-based mass mobilization structure to a brigade-based permanent readiness structure. A few days after Serdyukov was replaced by Sergey Shoigu, the new defense minister appointed a replacement for Makarov.

Early life and education Nikolai Makarov was born on 7 October 1949 in the village of , Ryazan Oblast, in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. After completing school he originally planned to attend the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, but decided to apply to the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School instead after being recommended to do so by a friend. Makarov graduated from there and became a Soviet Army officer in 1971. His military education also includes graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, where he received the Kutuzov scholarship, in 1979, and the General Staff Academy in 1993.

Early military career Makarov began his career in 1971 by commanding a motor rifle platoon, company, and battalion in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. After completing the Frunze Military Academy in 1979 he served for the next decade in the Transbaikal Military District, and while he was there he received his next promotions to the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel earlier than normal. Makarov became a deputy regiment commander, deputy division commander, and, at the age of 34, a motorized rifle division commander before attending the General Staff Academy. During his time in the Transbaikal Military District he was also elected as a people's deputy on the Ulan-Ude city council. After completing the General Staff Academy in 1993 Makarov was a major general and served as the chief of staff of the Joint Group of Russian Forces in Tajikistan.

In September 1999, Lieutenant General Makarov was assigned as the Chief of Staff – First Deputy Commander of the Moscow Military District. and July 2001 he was the acting Commander of the Moscow Military District,

Colonel General Makarov became the commander of the Siberian Military District in December 2002, which a few years earlier had also absorbed the Transbaikal Military District. Makarov's appointment to the post came when another general, Gennady Troshev, refused to take the position. As the head of the military district Makarov worked with the military clergy, became the first district commander to establish parents' committees, and personally supervised the work of the military offices responsible for conscription. He also became the first military district commander to answer questions in a live press conference broadcast on the Internet, in December 2005, Also in 2005 he was promoted to the rank general of the army.

Chief of the General Staff

Makarov was appointed the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defense on 3 June 2008 by President Dmitry Medvedev. As the Chief of the General Staff, Makarov was responsible for the implementation of the 2008 Russian military reform, along with Minister of Defense Serdyukov, who was Russia's first true civilian defense minister. Because of that the reform is also sometimes called the "Serdyukov–Makarov reform."

The main goal of the reform was to modernize the Russian military, make the Ground Forces more mobile, and to streamline the command system. This was to be achieved by changing the organizational structure from the Soviet mass mobilization model to a permanent readiness model, which included making brigades the main unit instead of divisions, reducing the number of military districts, and reducing the number of troops, especially the number of officers. Other goals were to improve military training, provide more advanced equipment, and improve the living standards and support for military personnel. The Ground Forces saw the most changes, though the other branches also had their numbers of units and officers reduced. All "cadre" units, which were manned in peacetime by officers and NCOs, and were to be filled up with reservists in a mass mobilization, were eliminated entirely so that the military consisted only of permanent readiness units. Makarov said that these changes will create a "modern, well armed, mobile armed force that could meet present and future challenges."

Makarov made a statement about the result of the ongoing reform in December 2009. By then, new operational strategic commands were formed in military districts, Air Force aviation regiments and divisions were replaced by air bases, and a submarine command was created in the Navy. The number of officers was reduced from 355,000 to 150,000. In early 2012 Makarov gave an order to establish the Special Operations Forces Command.

Makarov also made a significant amount of international trips. June 2009, January 2010, May 2011, and September 2011; and General Martin Dempsey in July 2012. Their talks focused on U.S.-Russia military cooperation and the New START treaty negotiations.

He said in early 2012 that his reforms successfully reorganized the military, and that the next Chief of the General Staff could focus on re-equipping the military with advanced technology.

On 9 November 2012 Makarov was removed from his post by President Vladimir Putin and retired from the military, three days after the removal of Defense Minister Serdyukov over an alleged corruption scandal relating to military procurement. Colonel General Valery Gerasimov, who had been Makarov's deputy chief from 2010 to 2012, was appointed as his replacement, being the choice of the new defense minister, Sergey Shoigu.

Retirement After his dismissal, he was appointed as an aide to the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as an Analyst under the Office of Inspectors General in March 2013.

Awards Throughout his career, Makarov received several honors and awards:

Hero of the Russian Federation Order of Saint George, 2nd class Order of Merit to the Fatherland, 4th class Order of Military Merit Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Honored Military Specialist of the Russian Federation

Order of the Polar Star (February 2010)

Order of Friendship of Peoples (31 March 2010)

Personal life Makarov is married.