During the period, Gerasimov led troops in the Far Eastern Military District of Russia and the Baltic Military District.

From 1993 to 1995, he was a motorized division commander in the Baltic Military District and later in the Northwest Group of Forces.

Between 1997 and 2010, Gerasimov served as Deputy Commander of the First Army in the Moscow Military District, Commander of the 58th Army in the North Caucasus, as well as commander of the Leningrad and Moscow military districts.

In December 2010, he was appointed deputy chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces.

In less than two years, Gerasimov was appointed chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces by President Vladimir Putin in November 2012, simultaneously with the appointment of Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to his current position. In the same year, he became a member of the Russian Security Council.

Since then, Gerasimov has been active in Russian military efforts, especially in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict in the Donbas region in 2014.