Aleksandr Dvornikov | |
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 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Native name | Александр Владимирович Дворников |
| Nickname | Butcher of Syria[1][2] |
| Born | (1961-08-22)22 August 1961 (age 64) Ussuriysk,Primorsky Krai, Soviet Union |
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| Branch | |
| Service years | 1978–2023 |
| Rank | Army general |
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Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov[a] (Russian:Александр Владимирович Дворников; born 22 August 1961) is a retiredRussian Ground Forces officer who was the first field commander of theRussian military intervention in Syria, from 2015 to 2016, and of theRusso-Ukrainian war in 2022.
After joining theSoviet Army in 1978, Dvornikov rose through the ranks of the Soviet and then Russian army over a period of thirty years. In 2015, he became commander of theRussian Armed Forces in Syria during the Russian military intervention there. At that time he cemented a reputation for the harsh conduct of his military campaigns asthose in Chechnya before.[4][5] He was awarded the titleHero of the Russian Federation in 2016 and was promoted to general of the army in 2020. Dvornikov has written extensively about tactics and training in Russian military journals.
In February 2022, he was the commander of theSouthern Military District and led thesouthern front at the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, which was the most successful during the first stage of the war. In April 2022, Dvornikov was placed in charge of all forces in Ukraine, until he was replaced withColonel GeneralGennady Zhidko late in May 2022.[6] He was replaced at the Southern Military District by Colonel GeneralSergey Kuzovlev in January 2023. From February to December 2024, he was the chairman ofDOSAAF of Russia.[7]
Dvornikov was born on 22 August 1961 inUssuriysk. He graduated from theUssuriysk Suvorov Military School in 1978 and joined theSoviet Army. Dvornikov received further education at theMoscow High Command Training School, graduating in 1982.[8] From 1982, he served in theFar Eastern Military District as a platoon and then company commander, and as a battalion chief of staff. In 1991, Dvornikov graduated from theFrunze Military Academy. He became a deputy battalion commander in theWestern Group of Forces.[8]
Between 1992 and 1994, Dvornikov commanded the 154th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion of the6th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. In 1995, he became chief of staff and deputy commander of the10th Guards Tank Division's 248th Motor Rifle Regiment. Dvornikov became regimental commander in 1996. On 20 January 1996, he was awarded theOrder of Military Merit. On 2 February 1996, he was awarded theOrder of Courage.[8][9]
In 1997, he transferred to command the1st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division in theMoscow Military District. Between 2000 and 2003 he was chief of staff and then commander of the19th Motor Rifle Division[10] in theNorth Caucasus Military District. On 6 May 2000, he was awarded theOrder "For Merit to the Fatherland" 4th class with swords. Dvornikov graduated from theMilitary Academy of the General Staff in 2005.[8][9]
In 2005, Dvornikov became deputy commander and chief of staff of the36th Army in theSiberian Military District. In 2008, he took command of the5th Red Banner Army. Dvornikov became deputy commander of theEastern Military District in 2011. From May 2012 to June 2016, he served as chief of staff and first deputy commander of theCentral Military District. Between November and December 2012, he was acting commander of the district.[11]
On 13 December 2012, Dvornikov became alieutenant general. On 13 December 2014, he was promoted tocolonel general.[8]
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Around 30 September 2015, Dvornikov became the first commander of the Group of Forces in Syria during theRussian intervention in the Syrian civil war. On 17 March 2016, he was awarded the titleHero of the Russian Federation for his leadership.[11][12]
In July 2016, Dvornikov became theSouthern Military District's acting commander. He was confirmed in the position on 20 September 2016.[8][13]
In 2018, Dvornikov wrote an article inVestnik, the journal of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, describing the campaign in Syria as an integrated air-ground campaign, in which the main ground element was theSyrian Arab Army, and as one that usedsiege warfare. He also wrote that during theBattle of Aleppo a grouping was created to deliver strikes on targets along the outer ring of the city, working in three shifts for constant fire impact on enemy positions.[14]
In March 2019, theEuropean Union enacted sanctions on him due to his role in theKerch Strait incident.[citation needed]
By a decree from President Putin, Dvornikov was promoted to the rank of army general on 23 June 2020.[15] This made him one of four active-duty officers told hold the rank at that time, along with Chief of the General StaffValery Gerasimov, Ground Forces commanderOleg Salyukov, and Aerospace Forces commanderSergey Surovikin. This, among other factors, led some observers to see him as a potential successor to Gerasimov as the Chief of the General Staff.[14]
At the start of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dvornikov, as the commander of the Southern Military District, was the first commander of the Group of Forces South. It was the only one of the four groups of forces that achieved its initial objectives, outmaneuvering theUkrainian military insouthern Ukraine, capturingKherson Oblast and theZaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and amassing firepower for theBattle of Mariupol.[12] On 10 April 2022, Dvornikov was placed in complete charge of the entire invasion, though the Russian General Staff still did not form a separate Joint Group of Forces and command center at that point.[12][3][16]
In May 2022, he was replaced as field commander by Colonel GeneralGennady Zhidko;[12] this was reported on 3 June 2022 by theopen-source intelligence groupConflict Intelligence Team, citing Russian soldiers.[17] However, on 5 June Ukrainian governor of Luhansk OblastSerhiy Haidai said Dvornikov was still in command and had been given until 10 June by his superiors to complete theBattle of Severodonetsk.[18] On 25 June 2022, it was again reported that Dvornikov had been dismissed from his post.[19]
He was sanctioned byCanada under the Special Economic Measures Act (S.C. 1992, c. 17) in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Grave Breach of International Peace and Security,[20] and by theUK government in 2019 in relation to theRusso-Ukrainian War.[21]
On 8 October 2022, theRussian Defence Ministry named Air Force GeneralSergey Surovikin as the overall commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine without naming who Surovikin was replacing.[6] In January 2023, Dvornikov was relieved of command of the Southern Military District by Colonel GeneralSergey Kuzovlev, according to sources in the Ministry of Defense, though an official announcement was not made.[22][23]
After his replacement as field commander in Ukraine, he largely remained out of public activity,[12] until he was appointed on 3 February 2024 as the chairman of public-volunteer organizationDOSAAF.[22] In December 2024 Dvornikov received a new job and was replaced as the head of DOSAAF.[24]
Dvornikov's military reputation is often cited in the international press for the harsh conduct of his military campaigns, particularly in Chechnya and Syria. He has been accused of having pursuedscorched earth tactics. Retired US Navy AdmiralJames G. Stavridis spoke in an interview of what he said was a known epithet of Dvornikov, "Butcher of Syria".[4][5]
However, theInstitute for the Study of War has noted that although Dvornikov's tenure was marked by large numbers of civilian deaths, it was not especially bloody compared to the operation as a whole, as the Russian military targeted Syrian civilians and critical infrastructure throughoutits intervention in Syria.[25] According to an investigation by Cathrin Schaer and Emad Hassan published in the German state-funded mediaDeutsche Welle, statistics also show that Dvornikov did not open up a new and more violent chapter in the Syrian war.[26][25]
Some observers, including American military officers, considered Dvornikov to be one of the most "forward-thinking" and effective Russian generals, and a likely candidate to replace Valery Gerasimov as Chief of the General Staff before thespring 2022 battle of the Donbass. Dvornikov's group of forces was the most successful at the start of the invasion, and he had been the first commander of Russian forces in Syria, an experience that had an impact on his views of training and tactics. He had written extensively about subjects such as force-on-force maneuver training, close air support integration in tactical organizations, and junior officer development. American military observers believed that he had a vision for reforms to the Russian military in the event of becoming CGS, but he seems to have fallen out of favor due to a lack of progress in the Donbass.[12][14] TheJamestown Foundation described Dvornikov as one of the generals that were "fighting the last war" by using tactics that had been effective in Syria but were less relevant in the conditions of Ukraine.[14]
Media related toAleksandr Dvornikov at Wikimedia Commons| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Commander of the5th Guards Combined Arms Army 2008–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of theSouthern Military District 2016–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Position created | Commander of the Group of Forces South in theSpecial Military Operation 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Commander of the Special Military Operation 2022 | Succeeded by | |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman ofDOSAAF of Russia 2024 | Succeeded by |
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