The last Soviet Chief of General Staff, undone by the August coup
On 22 August 1991, with the GKChP coup collapsing and Yazov under arrest, Moiseyev became acting Soviet Defence Minister for a single day. The next day, he too was dismissed.
The last Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces (1988–1991). A protégé of Dmitry Yazov who rose through the Far Eastern Military District to the military's second-highest post, Moiseyev directed the Afghanistan withdrawal and took part in arms control negotiations, but backed Yazov in the August 1991 coup and was dismissed after its collapse.
Career Timeline
- 1958–1962Military service, graduated Far Eastern Tank School
- 1962–1972Tank platoon & company commander, GSFG & Carpathian MD
- 1972–1980Tank regiment commander, CO 50th & 27th Guards MRDs
- 1982–1985Deputy commander, then commander, 15th Army, Far Eastern MD
- 1985–1987Chief of Staff & 1st Deputy Commander, Far Eastern MD
- 1987–1988Commander, Far Eastern Military District
- 1988–1991Chief of the General Staff & 1st Deputy Minister of Defence
- 1991.8.22–23Acting Minister of Defence of the USSR
- 2011–2016State Duma deputy (United Russia)
Related historical events
- 1985–1991Perestroika and Glasnostlast chief of the Soviet General Staff
- 1991The August Coup and the Collapse of the USSRLast Chief of General Staff who backed the GKChP coupAs Chief of the General Staff he supported Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov's coup. After Yazov's arrest he served as acting Defence Minister for a single day on 22 August 1991 and was dismissed the next day.
Chief of the General Staff: Afghanistan Withdrawal, Arms Control, and Conservative Order
Mikhail Moiseyev's appointment as Chief of the General Staff in December 1988 came at a turning point for the Soviet military. In January–February 1989, he personally directed the planning of the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan; on 15 February 1989, the very day the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan, he was promoted to army general. Throughout his tenure, he worked alongside Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov to implement military reform based on a defensive doctrine and oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Eastern Europe and Germany.
Moiseyev also played a central role in arms control. In the spring of 1991, after Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigned over conflicts with radical reformers, Moiseyev led the Soviet side in Washington negotiations on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and other US-Soviet arms reduction talks. He also served as a negotiator for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
Yet Moiseyev was regarded as a conservative within the military. During the Soviet military crackdowns in Tbilisi (1989) and Vilnius (1991), he was seen as backing hard-line measures from the General Staff. Amid the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the secessionist movements in the Soviet republics, he prioritized combat readiness and conservative order over political reform. This stance culminated in his support for the August 1991 GKChP coup, and after its failure, his military career came to an end.