Russia changes four out of five military district commanders in six months

Russia has replaced commanders in four out of five military districts over the past six months. 

According to most recent information that appears on the website of the Russian Defence Ministry,  Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov headed the Eastern Military District (known for the Russian initials as VVO - Vostochny Voenny Okrug). Lieutenant General Yevgeny Nikiforov was appointed the commander of the Western Military District (ZVO - Zapadny Voenny Okrug).

Colonel General Sergei Kuzovlev was appointed to the position of the commander of the Southern Military District, and Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev headed the Central Military District.

All of them were appointed within the last six months. However, nothing was reported about the news appointments before, RBC noted.

New Central Military District commander is best general

Andrey Mordvichev, who chaired Russia's Central Military District, was born in 1976 in Pavlodar (now the territory of Kazakhstan). He graduated from the Novosibirsk Military Academy of the Siberian Military District (1997), as well as from the Military Academy of the Armed Forces (2006) and the Military Academy of the General Staff (2016).

From 2022 to 2023 he served as deputy commander of the Southern Military District. On February 17, 2023, Mordvichev was appointed to the post of the commander of the troops of the Central Military District.

General Mordvichev was awarded the Orders of Alexander Nevsky and Zhukov, as well as the Order of Courage and For Military Merit, the medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland, the Suvorov Medal and others.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that he thought of Andrey Mordvichev as the best general.

Mordvichev replaced Colonel General Alexander Lapin who held this position since November 22, 2017. Until the end of October 2022, Lapin commanded the Centre Group of Russian troops in the special military operation. In January, it was reported that Lapin was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, but the appointment was not officially announced.

Chechen President Kadyrov and the founder of private military company (PMC) Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin have repeatedly criticised Lapin. On October 1, Kadyrov accused the general of pulling back the Russian troops from Krasny Lyman. According to Kadyrov, Lapin, who was appointed to command the defence of the Krasny Lyman, sent mobilized soldiers from the Luhansk People's Republic to the front.

There are five military districts in Russia: Western, Southern, Central, Eastern military districts and the Northern Fleet (the Northern Fleet is equivalent in status to the districts).