Thread by @MassDara

Much commentary about Gen Gerasimov’s presence in Ukraine & Russian military command. I wanted to open up the vault about his previous experience as a field commander and how that’s relevant too. (Below in Chechnya). /1

It’s surprising to many here in the west that someone of his rank would go to the front. There are larger issues and implications here at play about his visit, and I think @MarkHertling covered them well here /2

https://twitter.com/markhertling/status/1520887048063930368

Gerasimov was a field commander in Chechnya and led combined arms armies and multiple military districts in his career. He is not what some would call a General Staff “arbat general” - a pejorative for staff officers with little field experience.He has been there a while though/3

Russian commanders do go to the front sometimes to … impose their personality… on problems to try to fix them. Demonstrated here by General Shamanov arguing and pointing in the second Chechen War (photo 1999-2001). Behind him is his subordinate, Valery Gerasimov. /4

In this documentary of the second Chechen war, title Настоящая война, Gerasimov is going over directives to subordinates, and later calling in strikes. I note in the documentary video, he is working/calling strikes while the others are standing around yelling curse words (/4)

How does this pertain to him visiting Ukraine? Suggests he probably needed to straighten things out and get a clear picture for himself. It doesn’t speak highly of trust and clear coms up and down the chain and that’s a larger discussion /5

But also he is a field commander by experience - he prefers to see the terrain and how things look for himself for this operation given the forces committed. He reportedly visited troops before this stated. He’s there because it’s his style AND because things aren’t going well /6

In sum, his purpose for traveling to Ukraine and what was said and done on that trip is unknown. That the Russians took the risk of him being targeted suggests things aren’t going to plan to the point where it needed his correction or at least supervision for next steps. /end