Viktor Samsonov

{{Short description|Russian chief of the General Staff (1941–2024)}}

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix=General of the Army

| name = Viktor Samsonov

| native_name = Виктор Николаевич Самсонов

| native_name_lang = ru

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|11|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dukhovnitskoye, Saratov Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|11|17|1941|11|10|df=y}}

| death_place = Moscow, Russia

| placeofburial = Federal Military Memorial Cemetery

| image = Viktor Samsonov 1.jpg

| caption =

| nickname =

| allegiance = {{flag|Soviet Union}} (to 1991)
{{flag|Russia}}

| branch = {{navy|Soviet Union}}
{{army|Soviet Union}}
{{army|Russia}}

| serviceyears = 1964–2002

| rank = 50px Army General

| commands = Chief of the General Staff
Leningrad Military District

| alma_mater = Far Eastern Higher Command School
Frunze Military Academy
General Staff Academy

| laterwork =

| unit =

| battles = Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
First Chechen War

| awards =

}}

General of the Army Viktor Nikolayevich Samsonov ({{langx|ru|Виктор Николаевич Самсонов}}; 10 November 1941 – 17 November 2024) was Russian and Soviet military officer. He was the last Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1991 to 1992 and was in command of all military forces on the territory of the Russian SFSR after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was then the Chief of the General Staff of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Armed Forces from 1992 to 1993, Chief of Staff for Coordinating Military Cooperation of the CIS Member States from 1993 to 1996, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1996 to 1997.

Early military career

Samsonov was born on 10 November 1941 in the work settlement of Dukhovnitskoye, Saratov Oblast, Russian SFSR. After he graduated from school he first worked at the train station in Sosnogorsk. He entered the Soviet Army in 1960 as an officer cadet, and was commissioned as a lieutenant from the Far Eastern Higher Command School in July 1964. In October of that year he was assigned to the Soviet Naval Infantry, where he served as a platoon and company commander, in the 55th Naval Infantry Division of the Pacific Fleet.{{Cite web |title=В Москве простились с бывшим начальником Генштаба генералом армии Самсоновым |trans-title=Moscow bids farewell to former Chief of the General Staff, Army General Samsonov |language=ru |date=22 November 2024 |work=Moskovskij Komsomolets |url=https://www.mk.ru/politics/2024/11/22/v-moskve-prostilis-s-byvshim-nachalnikom-genshtaba-generalom-armii-samsonovym.html }} Samsonov attended the Frunze Military Academy in the early 1970s, where he was classmates with Mikhail Moiseyev and Boris Gromov, and graduated in 1972. Afterwards he held command roles in the motor rifle forces of the Soviet Army at the regimental and division level. In 1974 he received a promotion to lieutenant colonel ahead of schedule, and was promoted to colonel in 1979. After graduating from the General Staff Academy of the Soviet Armed Forces in 1981 Samsonov became a motor rifle division commander.{{Cite web |title=САМСОНОВ Виктор Николаевич |language=ru |publisher=Russian Ministry of Defense |url=https://encyclopedia.mil.ru/encyclopedia/history_department/more.htm?id=11588267@SD_Employee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622154457/https://encyclopedia.mil.ru/encyclopedia/history_department/more.htm?id=11588267@SD_Employee |archive-date=22 June 2017 }}

In September 1983 he was made the chief of staff of a field army, and in May 1985 he was appointed as commander of the 4th Army, in the Transcaucasian Military District. In May 1987, as a lieutenant general, Samsonov was made chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. In July 1990 he became the commander of the Leningrad Military District, and during the August 1991 coup attempt in the Soviet Union he was named the military commandant of Leningrad by the State Committee on the State of Emergency. He supported the local government and did not have significant role in the events of the coup, with his main action being the increase in security at military sites in the area.

Senior military career

File:Viktor Samsonov.jpg

In December 1991, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Colonel General Samsonov was made the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. In early 1992, the former Soviet military on the territory of the Russian SFSR was under his command. In January, his post was renamed to being that of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Armed Forces, and in February he was formally appointed to the new position. He had strained relations with the CIS Armed Forces commander-in-chief, Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, and Russian Minister of Defense, Col. Gen. Pavel Grachev. In 1993 the attempt to create a unified CIS military fell apart,{{Cite web |title=COLONEL GENERAL VIKTOR NIKOLAEVICH SAMSONOV, CHIEF OF THE |date=1 March 1997 |url=http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Intelligence-Review-97/COLONEL-GENERAL-VIKTOR-NIKOLAEVICH-SAMSONOV-CHIEF-OF-THE.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911031554/http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Intelligence-Review-97/COLONEL-GENERAL-VIKTOR-NIKOLAEVICH-SAMSONOV-CHIEF-OF-THE.html |archive-date=11 September 2012 |work=Jane's Information Group}} and in December of that year Samsonov became the Chief of Staff for Coordinating Military Cooperation of the CIS Member States.

He was promoted to rank of general of the army by President Boris Yeltsin, who appointed Samsonov as Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in October 1996. He was critical of the direction taken by the military at that time, and was said to be opposed to military reforms desired by Yeltsin,{{Cite web |title=Начальники Генерального штаба |trans-title=Chiefs of the General Staff |language=ru |date=14 May 2002 |work=Kommersant |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/321870 }} for which he was dismissed in May 1997, along with the Minister of Defense, Igor Rodionov. From then until 1999 Samsonov was at the service of the Ministry of Defense, and from June 2000 he worked for the Russian presidential administration while still being on active duty. He retired in March 2002.

Samsonov was married and had two sons. After his retirement, he became the president of the Fund for Assistance to Disabled People and Veterans of War and Labour. He died on 17 November 2024, at the age of 83.{{cite news |title=Памяти генерала армии Самсонова Виктора Николаевича. |url=https://kvrf.org/pamyati-generala-armii-samsonova-viktora-nikolaevicha/ |access-date=18 November 2024 |publisher=KVRF |date=18 November 2024}} He was buried with military honours at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery on 20 November 2024.{{cite news |title=В Подмосковье состоялось прощание с генералом армии Самсоновым |url=https://tvzvezda.ru/news/202411201410-xlxo8.html|access-date=25 February 2025|publisher=tvzvezda.ru|date=20 November 2024}}