Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia

The General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Военная академия Генерального штаба Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации) was founded in 1918 in Moscow by Leonid Govorov. It was the senior Soviet and now Russian professional school for officers.

The Academy of the General Staff is located in Moscow, on 14 Kholzunova Lane, not far from the Frunze Military Academy. The "best and the brightest" officers of all the Soviet Armed Forces were selected to attend this senior and most prestigious of all the Soviet academies. Students were, and probably still are, admitted to the Academy in the ranks of lieutenant colonel, colonel, and General-Major (one star). Most were colonels or newly promoted generals. Officers enter in their late 30s, as a general rule.

Officers selected for this academy would have first attended the appropriate service or branch academy (see Military academies in Russia). Graduates who were not already generals or admirals usually were promoted to this rank a short time after completing the course. Length of the academy was only two years, in contrast to the three years for the branch and service academies.

Faculty and students of the General Staff Academy were involved in debates over Soviet military restructuring in the last years of the USSR. They became associated with the military reform efforts of Major Vladimir Lopatin and made specific suggestions for deep force reductions.

The Commandant, as of 2006, is Army General Ivan Yefremov, former commander of the Moscow Military District. He replaced General Colonel Viktor Chechevatov in 2005.

The Foundations of Geopolitics by Alexander Dugin has reportedly been a geopolitical textbook in the Academy.

Notable faculty

 * Fyodor Kuznetsov - Commandant of the Academy (1942-1943), Colonel General
 * Matvei Zakharov - Commandant of the Academy (1945-1949 & 1963-1964), Marshal of the Soviet Union
 * Dmitry Karbyshev - Doctor of Military Sciences, professor
 * Gregory Lavrik – Doctor of Military Sciences, professor.
 * Valentin Rog - Doctor of Military Sciences, professor, Major General of aviation.
 * Ivan Timokhovich – Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Major General of aviation.

Notable alumni

 * Beqir Balluku, Albanian former Minister of Defense
 * Teme Sejko, Albanian rear-admiral and commander of the Albanian navy in the 1950s.