The last chief of Soviet GRU who led military intelligence through the USSR's dissolution
In late 1990, as residencies across Eastern Europe folded, an officer asked Mikhailov: 'Are we winning or losing?' He replied: 'It is no longer about winning or losing. We are simply crumbling.'
A career officer who began as a Vladivostok infantry school instructor during the final phase of World War II, he rose through the Frunze and General Staff academies to command a motor-rifle division in the GSVG and serve as chief of staff of the Turkestan Military District and the Far East command. Posted as senior military adviser to the Vietnamese People's Army in 1979–80, he returned to head the General Staff's Main Operations Directorate, overseeing Soviet operational planning. Appointed GRU chief in July 1987, he led Soviet military intelligence through the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the collapse of Eastern Bloc regimes, and the dissolution of the USSR, earning promotion to General of the Army in 1990. He retired on health grounds in March 1992 as the last regular chief of the Soviet GRU.
Career Timeline
- 1942–49Enlisted → Vladivostok Infantry School → platoon → company commander
- 1951–54Frunze Academy → rifle battalion commander, Baltic MD
- 1958–66Regiment chief of staff → motor-rifle regiment commander, Baltic MD
- 1966–68General Staff Academy
- 1969–7921st MRD commander (GSVG) → 15th Army chief of staff → Turkestan MD chief of staff
- 1979–80Senior military adviser, Vietnamese People's Army General Staff
- 1980–83Chief, 7th Directorate → chief, Main Operations Directorate, General Staff
- 1983–87Chief of staff / 1st deputy C-in-C, Far East Forces
- 1987.2–7First deputy chief, GRU
- 1987.7–1991.10GRU chief / deputy chief of the General Staff
- 1992Retired on health grounds