Colonel-General Mikhail Yurievich Teplinskiy

Hero of the Russian Federation Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy, commander of the Russian Airborne Forces [VDV], on 09 July 2023 replaced Army General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, as commander in Ukraine, less than six months after he was appointed. Teplinskiy is considered Gerasimov’s opponent and one of the few relatively “popular” commanders in the Russian military. As of April 2023, Teplinskiy had been a Deputy Commander of the Joint Grouping of Russian Forces in Ukraine, by virtue of his commandof teh VDV.

The Moscow Times, citing “military correspondents,” published news that Putin “continues chaotic throwing, changing army commanders in Ukraine.” The reason for this, the authors of the publication noted, was the situation at the front, where Russian troops “are surely losing ground under the onslaught of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

Abraham Lincoln, in his search for a winning general, sought a man of undaunted enterprise. He must make no fatal blunder, and while he did not wish to expose the North to disaster, Lincoln did mean to conquer the South. Lincoln famously stated “If General McClellan is not going to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.” Lincoln wrote to General Hooker: “Beware of rashness, but with energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories.” Lincoln replaced generals many times – Winfield Scott, Irvin McDowell, George McClellan, John Pope, Ambrose Burnside, ‘Fighting Joe’ Hooker, George Meade – before he finally selected Ulysses S. Grant to take command.

After Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion and against the backdrop of Russia’s failures at the front in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin likely removed the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, from command of Russian troops in Ukraine. Instead, it seems that Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky , commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, was been entrusted with directing the theater of operations on the part of the Russian Federation. Russian propagandists, the so-called “Z-military correspondents”, in particular the Rybar channel, wrote on 08 July 2023 that Gerasimov formally retained the post of chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, but “has nothing to do with resolving issues at the front.” It was said that instead of Gerasimov, Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy was in charge of all operations in Ukraine.

Colonel-General Teplinskiy is a serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, he has been the commander of the Airborne Forces since June 2022. Russian airborne troops have been widely deployed during the conflict in Ukraine. Thus, Colonel General Teplinskiy is an “involved person” because he “destabilizes Ukraine or undermines or threatens the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine” because he works for the Russian government as a Major General of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Considering the current international situation around Ukraine and in order to promote international efforts to achieve international peace aimed at resolving this issue, in accordance with the measures taken by other major countries, the Government of Japan has introduced, after taking measures in accordance with the Law on Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade, on the basis of the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers on the “freezing of assets of individuals and legal entities of the Russian Federation and other measures of May 26, 2023”.

Mikhail Teplinskiy was born in Ukraine: his small homeland is the town of Mospino in the Donetsk region, which remained occupied since 2014. The settlement is located on the Gruzskaya River, a left tributary of the Kalmius. In 1800, the village of Makhorovka was founded. For a whole century, villages appeared in the district, which underwent changes and changed names. Since 1902, mines began to be built on this territory, a railway was laid. One of the mine owners by the name of Mospin asked to name the station after him. As a result, the name was assigned to the village. In 1938, Mospino received the status of a city.

There is no information about Mikhail’s early years. His compatriot recalls that Misha went to kindergarten, where her mother worked as a teacher. She even has a picture of a seven-year-old boy, and next to her is a little girl who now recalls how in the summer children made hats out of burdock, earrings out of cherries and ate “pies with a liver tube.”

Mikhail Yurievich does not tell anything about his family and parents, it is not known who they are by profession, what they were doing. There is also no information about siblings, if any. The same compatriot said that Mikhail’s mother lived in Mospino, but in 2019 her son took her. True, the woman did not want to leave her house, but the man managed to persuade her, although it took five years.

Teplinsky graduated from school in the Ukrainian SSR, and received his military education in Russia. He joined the Soviet Army in August 1987. His entire career was connected with this branch of the military – the Airborne Forces. In 1991 he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School named after Lenin Komsomol. He served in the 106th Guards Airborne Division (Tula), commanded a parachute reconnaissance platoon and a reconnaissance company of the 137th Guards Parachute Regiment. In 1992-1993 he took part in the elimination of the armed conflict in Transnistria.

It was the Chechen wars that brought Mikhail Teplinsky the first career achievements in the Russian army. In December 1994 – March 1995, he participated in the first Chechen war, in particular in Grozny. For four months he took part in the battles of the First Chechen War, where he was appointed chief of intelligence of the parachute regiment. After graduating from the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, he began to command a battalion. In the late 1990s he took part in the second Chechen war. Even during the first campaign, he became a captain and head of intelligence of the parachute regiment,

On the tragic day of January 1, 1995, at the head of a group of scouts, he made his way to the center of Grozny, to the area of the railway station, where the military equipment of the dead units of the 131st Maikop Motorized Rifle Brigade was still burning. He identified a building that towered over the surrounding neighborhood and the station and customs buildings. The possession of this building made it possible to control the entire area. Imperceptibly penetrating the building, the paratroopers silently destroyed a group of militants who were in it, including two grenade launchers and one sniper.

A few hours later, the first large group of Dudayev’s men (12 people), walking in ecstasy from the victory won, fell under heavy fire from the paratroopers. All attempts by the enemy to recapture the building ended only with new losses of the attackers. For several days, Teplinsky’s company successfully repelled enemy attacks, and part of the time in conditions of complete encirclement. In total, during the defense of the building, the paratroopers destroyed 44 militants. The courageous defense of the paratroopers made it possible to keep the adjacent area of Grozny under the control of Russian troops. From here, the operation to liberate the city began. When Teplinsky’s subordinates came out to their own, there was not a single dead person among them, only five soldiers were injured.

He distinguished himself in further battles during the crossing of the Sunzha River. While bypassing the posts on the occupied bridgehead with one of the sergeants of his company, he suddenly encountered 10 militants. In a fleeting battle, M.Y. Teplinsky and the sergeant destroyed 5 militants. Then, with reinforcements arrived, the commander of the reconnaissance company combed the area. At the same time, another enemy group was identified, of which 12 militants were destroyed on the spot. During the period of hostilities, about 30 militants were killed on the personal combat account of M.Y. Teplinsky. While still in the Chechen Republic, he was promoted in rank and position: he became captain and chief of intelligence of the parachute regiment.

By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 1, 1995, for courage and heroism shown in the performance of a special task, Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Yuryevich Teplinsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation with the award of a special distinction – the Gold Star medal.

In 1999 he graduated from the Frunze Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Moscow. Since 1999, he commanded a parachute battalion. He fought in the second Chechen war. He was transferred to the 76th Guards Airborne Division (Pskov), where he was chief of staff and commander of the 234th Guards Parachute Regiment. In October 2002, he was appointed deputy commander of the 76th Guards Airborne Division, and since 2003 he was its chief of staff.

In 2007, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the most prestigious educational institution for the Russian military leadership. In June 2007, he was appointed head of the largest training center of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Army = the 212th Guards Vienna Order of Kutuzov and Suvorov District Training Center named after Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant-General I.N. Russiyanov (Siberian Military District, Chita Region). Since June 2009 he was Chief of Staff of the 20th Combined Arms Army ( Mulino, Nizhny Novgorod Region of the Russian Federation) of the Moscow (since 2010 – Central) Military District.

Since February 2013, a year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he had been the commander of the 36th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District (Ulan-Ude) with the rank of lieutenant general.

According to the Air Force , it was Mikhail Teplinskiy who led the Russian operation near Ilovaisk in 2014. Then the military of the Russian regular army significantly strengthened the militants of the ” DPR” in the battles for the city, and then shot the Ukrainian soldiers who left Ilovaisk after the conclusion of ” agreements” on the alleged ” green corridor” (in particular, the military of the 98th airborne division of the Russian Federation participated in this). However, the role of Teplinsky in these events remains unconfirmed.

But it is known that in May 2015, a little more than a year after Russia’s invasion of the Donbass, he was appointed chief of staff of the territorial troops in the Southern Military District (Southern Military District) of the Russian army (headquarters – in the city of Rostov-on-Don). In accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, on 15 March 2017 Lieutenant General Mikhail Teplinskiy was appointed Chief of Staff of the Southern Military District (SMD) – First Deputy Commander of the SMD troops, reposnsible for the uninterrupted supply of Russian occupation troops with personnel, weapons and equipment.

From April 2019 to June 2022, he was Chief of Staff – First Deputy Commander of the Central Military District (headquarters – in the city of Yekaterinburg). Shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mikhail Teplinsky was given the rank of Colonel General, a decree signed by Vladimir Putin in December 2021.

Since June 16, 2022, he has been Commander of the Airborne Forces. In this post he replaced Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov. At that time, military analysts, including Institute for the Study of War [ISW] experts, pointed out that Serdyukov was fired due to the huge losses of the airborne troops in the first months of the Russian invasion. In particular, elite units of Russian paratroopers were defeated in the battles near Kiev . He took part in the Special Military Operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine in 2022-2023. According to British intelligence, Teplinskiy probably commanded a relatively orderly withdrawal of Russian troops from the western bank of the Dnieper in November 2022 ( after the liberation of Kherson), for which he received positive marks in Russia.

On December 31, 2022, Putin brought Mikhail Teplinsky to public attention for the first time. During a visit to the headquarters of the Southern Military District, Putin awarded a number of military personnel, including Sergei Surovikin, and presented the order to Teplinsky as well. At the same time, as reported by the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, he was assigned to act as head of the newly created Dnepr grouping of Russian forces to protect the land corridor between the Russian Federation and Crimea [later Oleg Makarevich took this position].

However, already in January 2023, the British Ministry of Defense announced that Teplinsky could be removed from active participation in operations in Ukraine, in particular because of disagreements regarding the involvement of Russian paratroopers. Like, the commander of the Airborne Forces opposed the fact that the VDV were used to hold ground targets, which mechanized infantry would traditionally have to do.

During the special military operation, Teplinsky received an order from his superiors to send a group of paratroopers to take the enemy’s fortified area. Mikhail Yuryevich refused to follow the instructions, as he understood that many guys would die in this battle. The commander was convinced that it was pointless to go on the attack without destruction by artillery and aviation. Such a decision did not go unpunished for Teplinsky. The man was removed from command and sent to the rear. For Mikhail Yuryevich, it was difficult to be at a safe distance from the front while his military friends were dying.

Russian media denied Teplinsky’s removal during that period, stating that he “successfully solves problems” during the so-called. “SVO”, as in Russia they call the genocidal war unleashed against Ukraine. However, British intelligence suggested that Teplinsky’s removal was due to Gerasimov’s desire to impose his personal authority on the Russian military. Mikhail Teplinskiy, like Sergey Surovikin, represents the camp of opponents of Valery Gerasimov among the commanders of the Russian Federation . Month after month, he gained more and more favor from ultra-nationalist voices in the Russian media space.

On February 23, 2023, Teplinskiy released a video message on the occasion of the Russian ” Defender of the Fatherland Day”, In it, the commander confirmed the rumors that he was forced to leave the front. “It so happened that after almost a year of fighting, I have been out of the war for more than a month. I can’t describe how it is given to me every day in the rear, when comrades-in-arms are fighting and dying at the front. When, showing transcendent courage, the troops entrusted to me fight with the enemy. When the front is 30 kilometers from my father’s house, where my father is buried and where my mother lives. Therefore, my greatest desire today is to return to the front as soon as possible, ” he said .

Teplinskiy outlined some of the ” programmatic” aspects of his vision of the war. He completely repeated Putin’s false statements about the inevitability of ” SVO” and the imaginary need to ” save the bleeding Donbass.” However, this video in ISW was also regarded as an attempt by Teplinsky to address Putin directly and express dissatisfaction with the military command of the Russian Federation . In particular, in his address, in addition to the traditional propaganda cliches about ” Bandera” and Ukraine as ” anti-Russia”, the commander of the Airborne Forces stated that:

• commanders should ” take care of the soldiers”, and not “pay for the captured villages and heights with soldiers’ lives”;
• “the time will come, history will ask from everyone” and will bring everyone to responsibility;
• “It so happened that after almost a year of fighting I was out of the war for more than a month” – that is, in fact, Teplinskiy confirmed his removal and withdrawal to the rear.

This video of Teplinsky, probably also confirmed his disappointment with the waste of airborne forces in the battles for Soledar and reports of unwillingness to obey Gerasimov.

In March 2023, the head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin highly appreciated the work of Mikhail Teplinsky in the NVO zone. Then he was asked to describe the proposed resignation of the general. Prigozhin responded by saying that he could have left the post because of his own honesty and “refusal to engage in sycophancy.” In addition, the head of the PMC expressed the hope that in the near future, Mikhail Teplinskiy and his colleague Sergei Surovikin will take senior positions in the Ministry of Defense.

As of April 2023, Teplinsky was deputy commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the special military operation zone. Subsequently, in mid-April 2023, when VVSHNIK units began assisting the Wagner PMC in the battles for Bakhmut, British intelligence reported that Teplinsky had likely been returned to command operations in Ukraine again. “ Teplinskiy is probably one of the few senior Russian generals who is widely respected by the rank and file . His recent turbulent career is indicative of serious tensions among factions in the Russian General Staff regarding Russia’s military approach in Ukraine. It is unlikely that Teplinsky’s remit will be limited to airborne units, but he is likely to contribute to the corps’ traditional role as an elite force,” British intelligence noted at the time.

On 18 April 2023, Putin once again publicly demonstrated his confidence in Teplinsky. On the eve of Easter, the dictator allegedly visited the occupied territories of the Kherson and Lugansk regions of Ukraine. Then, at the headquarters of the Dnepr occupation forces grouping in the Kherson direction, Putin heard reports from the commander of this grouping, Oleg Makarevich, and Teplinsky himself. Regarding the latter, the dictator was generous with compliments: “I know that on behalf of the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense, he was on the front line for quite a long time, he made a very detailed report. The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff highly appreciated him,” Putin said about Teplinsky, giving the military leaders an icon.

Analyzing these gestures of Putin, the Institute for the Study of War then stated a likely next change in the dictator’s s in the military command of the Russian Federation and, possibly, changes in the Kremlin’s inner circle. One of the Kremlin-connected ” military correspondents” then noted that neither Gerasimov nor Sergei Shoigu were present at Putin’s meetings in occupied Ukraine. He also noted that Teplinskiy, as well as Alexander Lapin, who was previously sent on vacation, could return to the ranks of the military command of the occupying army of the Russian Federation against the will of Gerasimov and Shoigu .

During Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion demanding the dismissal of Shoigu and Gerasimov, Mikhail Teplinskiy remained silent and did not make public appeals in support of either side.

The Kremlin could have chosen the candidacy of Mikhail Teplinsky because of his great popularity among the Russian rank and file and the ultra-nationalist community of the Russian Federation , ISW analysts explained. They recalled that earlier Teplinskiy commanded the Russian forces in the Bakhmut area, which operated there together with units of the Wagner PMC. However, nothing is known about his wider support for the Wagnerites, although he gained fame as one of the most famous ” anti-Gerasimov” commanders, in addition to Surovikin. Recently, Teplinskiy was allegedly responsible for those sectors of the front where Russian troops are defending themselves from counteroffensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Therefore, the assumption of his actual appointment as the chief commander of the theater of operations in Ukraine may indicate two reasons, according to ISW analysts:

• either the Kremlin sought to reward Teplinsky for the relatively effective defensive operations of the Russian Federation in these areas of the front ( in southern Ukraine);
• or Moscow is looking for a new ” public face” for its operations in Ukraine, who could demonstrate at least basic military competence to offset the attention that Prigozhin has attracted against the backdrop of the battles for Bakhmut.

Earlier, ISW also noted that the massive failures of the Russian winter-spring offensive in Ukraine likely prompted Putin to share responsibility for operations in Ukraine between two different groups in the Ministry of Defense on the eve of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. At the same time, Zaporozhye, Kherson and South Donetsk directions fell into the area of responsibility of Teplinsky. At the same time, Institute analysts predicted that technically Valery Gerasimov would most likely retain his role as chief of the General Staff, at least for now, so as not to give the impression that Putin had made concessions to Prigozhin.

Over the long years of service, Teplinsky has repeatedly shown courage and demonstrated his professional qualities. The heroic deeds of the military were not unnoticed. For courage and heroism shown in the performance of a special assignment, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 1, 1995, Senior Lieutenant M.Yu. Teplinsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. He was awarded the Order of Courage, the Order of Kutuzov, the medal “For Courage”, medals of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” I and II degrees, and other awards.

Teplinsky, like most people in the military profession, prefers not to discuss his personal life in the press. The man wants to protect the family from ill-wishers and excessive attention of media representatives. It is known that the Colonel-General has been officially married for many years. Who his wife is, and what profession she chose, there is no such information. The couple have three children, two sons and a daughter.