Gerasimov was appointed Chief of General Staff following the dismissal of Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov on 6 November 2012.
The previous Chief of General Staff, Army General Nikolay Makarov, was seen as close to Serduykov and was seen by commentators as likely to be replaced by new Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu.
It has been reported that Makarov resigned, but he was formally dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.
Other changes were the dismissal of Alexander Sukhorukov from the position of First Deputy Defence Minister and his replacement by Colonel General Arkady Bakhin, formerly commander of the Western Military District.
Aerospace Defence Forces commander Colonel General Oleg Ostapenko was also promoted to Deputy Defence Minister.
He was promoted to the highest rank in the Russian Army, General of the Army as of 2014.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Gerasimov was in fact the general commander of all elements of Russian forces and also the pro-Russian insurgents during the disastrous Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014 where over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.

On 15 September 2016, he and Turkish chief of staff General Hulusi Akar conducted a meeting on the future of Syria in the Ankara headquarter of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Gerasimov was appointed Chief of General Staff following the dismissal of Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov on 6 November 2012. The previous Chief of General Staff, Army General Nikolay Makarov, was seen as close to Serduykov and was seen by commentators as likely to be replaced by new Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu. It has been reported that Makarov resigned, but he was formally dismissed by President Vladimir Putin. Other changes were the dismissal of Alexander Sukhorukov from the position of First Deputy Defence Minister and his replacement by Colonel General Arkady Bakhin, formerly commander of the Western Military District. Aerospace Defence Forces commander Colonel General Oleg Ostapenko was also promoted to Deputy Defence Minister. He was promoted to the highest rank in the Russian Army, General of the Army as of 2014. 
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Gerasimov was in fact the general commander of all elements of Russian forces and also the pro-Russian insurgents during the disastrous Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014 where over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
On 15 September 2016, he and Turkish chief of staff General Hulusi Akar conducted a meeting on the future of Syria in the Ankara headquarter of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Valery Gerasimov