Leonid Ivashov
General Ivashov at the 2005 Axis for Peace conference
Born (1943-08-31) 31 August 1943
Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union (now Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
NationalityRussian

Leonid Grigoryevich Ivashov (Russian: Леонид Григорьевич Ивашов; born 31 August 1943) is a Russian military and public official. He is a former President of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems and a retired Colonel-General.

In January 2022, as the head of the All-Russian Officers Assembly, he published a statement condemning Putin's "criminal policy of provoking a war" during the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis and calling for President Vladimir Putin's resignation.

Biography

In 1964, Ivashov graduated from Tashkent Suvorov Military School and later in 1974 from the Frunze Military Academy. He was a platoon commander in the Soviet military forces that invaded Czechoslovakia to put down the Prague Spring in 1968.

Between 1976 and 1984, he worked as a senior aide to the Soviet Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov. In 1987 he became chief of the department for general affairs in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Defense.

From 1996 to 2001, he was chief of the military cooperation department at the Russian Ministry of Defense. He was in charge of military co-operation between members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

General Ivashov was one of the organizers of the march of Russian paratroopers to Pristina in 1999.

After his retirement in 2001, Ivashov wrote extensively on military affairs and geopolitics. Between 2004 and 2014, he was President of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems. After a year break he was reelected president of the Academy end of March 2015.[1] He was reportedly involved in the Foundations of Geopolitics, a book by Aleksandr Dugin.[2]

On December 5, 2011, he notified his intention to participate in the presidential race through self-nomination. But the Central Election Committee refused his nomination for administrative reasons. [3]

In October 2016, Ivashov explained in Russian Channel One that Russia's engagement in the Syrian conflict was critical to prevent construction of Qatar-Turkey pipeline, which would be catastrophic for Gazprom and, in turn, for the budget of the Russian Federation.[4][5]

On 31 January 2022, during the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, as Chairman of the Russian Officers' General Assembly, Gen. Ivashov published a statement condemning Putin's "criminal policy of provoking a war" and calling for President Putin's resignation.[6][7][8] Blaming Putin for risking "the final destruction of Russian statehood and the extermination of the indigenous population of the country" Ivashov stated that the real danger for Russia was not NATO or the West but "the unviability of the state model, the complete incapacity and lack of professionalism of the system of power and administration, the passivity and disorganization of society." Under these conditions "no country survives for long".[8] According to Roderick Gregory, "Ivashov believes that NATO is a hostile power, but his experience has taught him that the NATO/U.S. threat is under control and no external threat is imminent from the Western powers."[9]

Also on 7 February 2022 Ivashov publicly called for Putin to resign over threats of a "criminal" invasion of Ukraine.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ General Leonid Ivashov has been reelected President of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems at end of March 2015, Ruskline, March 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ John B. Dunlop. "Review: Aleksandr Dugin's Foundations of Geopolitics" (PDF).
  3. ↑ Operation President of Russia, survincity, July 15th, 2013
  4. ↑ "Российский генерал признал, что РФ воюет в Сирии чтобы обеспечить сбыт "Газпрому" в Европу". gordonua.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  5. ↑ "Вечер с Владимиром Соловьевым. Эфир от 04.10.2016". russia.tv (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  6. ↑ "Обращение Общероссийского офицерского собрания к президенту и гражданам Российской Федерации" [Appeal of the All-Russian Officers' Assembly to the President and citizens of the Russian Federation]. All-Russian Officers' Assembly (in Russian). 2022-01-31. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  7. ↑ "EchoMSK: Обращение Общероссийского офицерского собрания к президенту и гражданам Российской Федерации".
  8. 1 2 Galeotti, Mark (2022-02-07). "Anti-War Broadside Highlights Nationalist Critique of Putin". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  9. ↑ Gregory, Roderick (2022-02-11). "A retired Russian general's criticism may signal a larger problem for Putin". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  10. ↑ "Former top Russian general warns Putin against 'criminal' Ukraine invasion". New York Post. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Gregory, Paul Roderick (11 February 2022). "A retired Russian general's criticism may signal a larger problem for Putin". The Hill. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
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