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>one of whom was the Chief of Staff the army

Vitaly Gerasimov was the Chief of Staff of an army (41st Combined Arms), rather than the Army. The similarly-named Valery Gerasimov is the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

Chief of Staff of the 41st Army is not the same thing as Chief of Staff of the Army; the position is more equivalent to corps-level staff position in the US Army.

You sure?

Anyone is expendable when you're a dictator.