Pavel Kurachenko

Pavel Pavlovich Kurachenko (Russian: Павел Павлович Кураченко; born on 3 November 1961), is a Ukrainian-born Russian army officer who had been the acting Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces in 2017.

Kurachenko was the chief of the General Staff - First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation from 2015 to 2018.

He is a lieutenant general as of 2013.

Biography
Kurachenko was born on 3 November 1961.

In 1983, he graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Higher Command School of Air Defense Radio Electronics. In 1998 - the Air Defense Military Academy named after Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov.

In 2005, he attended the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia.

He served in the positions of chief of a radar station, commander of a radar company, deputy commander of a radio engineering brigade, commander of a radio engineering brigade, chief of staff of the 76th Air Defense Division, 54th Air Defense Corps from 2005 to 2007.

From October 2007 to August 2009, he was the Chief of Staff - First Deputy Chief of the Radio Engineering Troops of the Air Force.

By Decree of the President of Russia on 18 August 2009, he was appointed Chief of Staff - First Deputy Chief of Air Defense of the Russian Air Force. From 2012 to 2013, he was the head of Air Defense of the Air Force.

On 12 June 2013, Kurachenko became a lieutenant general.

Between December 2013 to July 2015, he was the Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces.

On 11 November 2014, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Air Defense Coordinating Committee under the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS Member States.

After the creation of a new branch of the Armed Forces - the Aerospace Forces, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 394 dated 1 August 2015, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff - First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces.

On 26 September 2017, Kurachenko became the acting in Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces. On 22 November, he was replaced by his successor Sergey Surovikin.

In July 2018, he was relieved of his duties as the deputy commander.