General of the Army Anatoly Vasiliyevich Kvashnin (Russian: Анатолий Васильевич Квашнин; born 15 August 1946, Ufa) was the Chief of the Russian General Staff from 1997 to 2004, when he was dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.Kvashnin graduated from the Kurgan Machine-building Institute in 1969 and served in the armed forces from this time. He began serving in the military as deputy commander of a tank company then moved on to hold various command and staff positions.