The troops of the Southern Military District meet the new commander. As early as July 1, 2016, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu announced that Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov was appointed to the post of commander of the military district. Until recently, this surname had little meaning to people outside the military. The military officer preferred to remain in the "shadow" - he really does not like, as knowledgeable people say, empty talk and senseless "exposure" in the media.
For the first time, the whole of Russia learned about Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov in March 2016, when the military leader who led the Russian military operation in Syria received the Gold Star of the Hero of the Russian Federation personally from the hands of the country's President Vladimir Putin. In turn, the general handed the president a photograph that speaks best of all about the gratitude of the Syrians to our country. The aerial photograph shows the roof of a Syrian house, with a very revealing inscription on it: “Good morning, Russia! Hello! You are our friends and our brothers! Thanks!"
Behind General Dvornikov's shoulders is a long and impeccable service in the ranks of the Soviet Army, and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. A native of Ussuriysk, 54-year-old Alexander Vladimirovich Dvornikov chose the life path of an officer for himself. As a teenager, he entered the Ussuriysk Suvorov military school and graduated from it in 1978. Next is the career of an officer in the ground forces. In 1982, Dvornikov graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet. He served in various command positions in motorized rifle units and formations of the Soviet Army and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In the Far Eastern Military District, Alexander Dvornikov commanded a motorized rifle platoon and company, then was chief of staff of a motorized rifle battalion. This was followed by a transfer to a new, prestigious place of service - to the Western Group of Forces, where the young officer served as deputy commander and commander of a motorized rifle battalion.
In 1991, Alexander Dvornikov graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze, served as chief of staff of a regiment and commander of a motorized rifle regiment in the Moscow military district. In 2000-2003. Alexander Dvornikov served as chief of staff of a division, and then as division commander in the North Caucasian Military District. In 2001 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. In 2005, Alexander Dvornikov was appointed deputy commander, later chief of staff of the combined arms army in the Siberian military district, and in 2008-2010. commanded the 5th Combined Arms Army in the Far Eastern Military District. Thus, General Dvornikov has a very large command experience - in 34 years of service in command positions, he passed the entire hierarchy of positions in motorized rifle units, formations and combined arms formations of the ground forces. In 2011-2012. General Alexander Dvornikov served as deputy commander of the Eastern Military District. For his valiant service he was awarded the Order of Courage, the orders "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree, "For military services", "For services to the Fatherland" 4th degree with swords.
Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov has never been a public figure. Before going on a business trip to Syria, where in September 2015 the general led the Russian military group, Dvornikov served as first deputy commander of the Central Military District - chief of staff of the district. It was at this time that one of the first publications about him appeared in the media. At the beginning of 2015, General Dvornikov was predicted to be soon appointed to the post of commander of the Central Military District, as it was expected that his immediate superior, the commander of the district, Colonel-General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, would be appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Then, in the summer of 2015, the Russian Ministry of Defense considered two possible options for appointing the commander-in-chief of the newly formed Aerospace Forces. In the first version, the post of commander-in-chief was to be taken by a combined-arms general who would most effectively ensure the combat coordination of forces and assets of the aerospace forces. Of the combined-arms generals, Colonel-General Zarudnitsky was called the most optimal candidate. The second option assumed that the formation of the Aerospace Forces would be entrusted to a general - a specialist, a native of the Air Force or the country's Air Defense Forces. Ultimately, as they say, not without the intervention of State Secretary of the Defense Ministry Nikolai Pankov, the Russian military leadership settled on the second option. Thus, Colonel-Generals Zarudnitsky and Dvornikov remained in their places, and the Aerospace Forces were headed by Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, a professional military pilot with extensive experience, who before the creation of the Aerospace Forces held the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation.
However, Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov, who served as chief of staff of the Central Military District, was soon sent to Syria. It was he who had to hone in practice the interaction of the Aerospace Forces of Russia and some other troops. At the same time, for a long time the participation of the Chief of Staff of the Central Military District in the leadership of the Russian military operation in Syria was not advertised, the domestic media did not report anything about it. The “curtain of silence” began to open only in the spring of 2015. First, materials appeared in the press that the general admitted participation in the hostilities of Russian special forces. Rossiyskaya Gazeta then published an interview with the general, in which he said that the Russian special forces are really fighting in Syria - they carry out additional reconnaissance tasks for Russian aviation strikes, aim aircraft at targets in remote areas, and also perform other important special tasks … In March 2016, Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov was awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of the Russian Federation.
- Photo: @ IvanSidorenko1 / Twitter
General Dvornikov had to command the Russian troops in Syria during one of the most difficult periods of the military operation. When General Dvornikov arrived in Syria, the situation in this country was clearly not in favor of the government forces. Terrorists controlled significant territories, including the world famous city of Palmyra. The militants were preparing an offensive against Aleppo. Most likely, if help from Russia had not arrived in time, the Syrian government forces would have had a very hard time. Especially if you consider that the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad were exhausted by four years of bloody war and suffered heavy losses over the course of several years, at the same time being subjected to the most severe informational pressure from the media and propaganda - both Western states and many countries of the Arab East.
It was the intervention of the Russian military group that radically changed the situation. For five and a half months, during which the group of forces operated under the command of General Dvornikov, it was possible to achieve a real turning point in the course of hostilities. Strategically key areas were again taken under the control of government forces, and Russian aviation inflicted effective strikes on clusters of terrorists, their bases and columns. During the military operation, with the support of Russian aircraft, government troops managed to free more than 400 settlements from terrorists. The territory, which was controlled by militants of terrorist groups, was reduced by ten thousand square kilometers.
Already at the end of February 2016, the troops of Bashar al-Assad's supporters launched a massive offensive against the positions of terrorist groups in all directions. In the province of Homs, positions were taken on the approaches to the city of Mkhin, fire strikes were made on the positions of the militants in the areas of Murek, Narb-Nafs and Latmin. They managed to take control of a key area in Aleppo. In mid-March, Syrian government forces managed to free the legendary Palmyra from terrorists. This victory was of fundamental importance for the fighting in Syria, primarily of a symbolic nature. Combat successes in Syria were the direct result of the effectively established interaction of the Russian military aviation with the Syrian ground forces, which received new military equipment from the Russian Federation - artillery systems, communications, intelligence, etc. Unfortunately, there were some losses in the ranks of our army - several Russian servicemen died in battles with terrorists in faraway Syria. Their exploits were duly appreciated by the Russian leadership.
As you can see, Colonel-General Dvornikov was also awarded the country's highest state award - the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. This means that both the president and the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense highly appreciated the general's merits in the overall leadership of the Syrian group. In fact, it was General Dvornikov who commanded the hostilities against terrorists, coordinating the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the ground forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. A lot of efforts had to be made to increase the combat capability of the Syrian government troops - and this is also the obvious merit of the Russian general and his military associates - generals and officers of the Russian armed forces. Today we can say with confidence that General Dvornikov is one of the most serious and promising Russian military leaders. And this was marked not only by a high award, but also by the appointment to a responsible post.
The Southern Military District is very strong and, at the same time, very problematic. Its units and formations are based in the Crimea and the North Caucasus, at Russian military bases in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Armenia. The Southern Military District includes the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy and the Caspian Naval Flotilla. It was the parts of the Southern Military District that assumed the main burden during all armed conflicts in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. The military personnel of the district have to solve the assigned tasks in a difficult situation, to be at the forefront of the fight against the terrorist threat. Therefore, the position of the commander of the Southern Military District is very responsible and difficult. Only a strong military leader with extensive command and combat experience, who enjoys the confidence of the highest officials of the state, can adequately cope with the assigned duties. General Alexander Dvornikov is just such a military leader, and he also has invaluable Syrian experience in commanding troops in a complex modern war.
According to the press service of the Southern Military District, Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov has already begun to familiarize himself with the state of affairs in military units and formations. In the near future, the colonel-general will visit units and formations stationed in the republics of the North Caucasus, Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions, Crimea, and the Republic of Abkhazia. The new commander also faces a very important task - to ensure the commissioning of infrastructure facilities and to begin combat training of the newly formed 150th Idritsko-Berlin Order of Kutuzov II degree motorized rifle division, which is now being deployed at three training grounds in the Rostov region. The new motorized rifle formation will cover the southwestern borders of the Russian Federation.
As for the previous commander of the Southern Military District, Colonel-General Alexander Galkin (pictured), he is expected to continue serving in the central office of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, after leaving his vacation. At least, this was announced at the meeting by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Recall that General Alexander Galkin commanded the Southern Military District for six years - from 2010 to 2016. Graduate of the Ordzhonikidze Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union A. I. Eremenko, Alexander Viktorovich Galkin also went through all stages of a military career - from the commander of a motorized rifle platoon to the commander of a combined-arms army. In 2008-2010 He served as First Deputy Commander - Chief of Staff of the Siberian Military District, and on January 13, 2010, he was appointed Commander of the North Caucasian Military District (since December 10, 2010 - the Southern Military District). It was at the time when Colonel-General Galkin was in command of the district that units and formations of the Southern Military District took an effective part in ensuring the reunification of the Crimea with the Russian Federation. For this, the general was included in the EU sanctions list - a list of political and military leaders who are restricted from entering the territory of the EU countries.
