In 1979, he graduated from the Ordzhonikidze Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union A.I.

On 3 January 2006, Galkin was appointed commander of the 41st Army in the Siberian Military District in Novosibirsk.

On 3 December 2008, he was appointed Chief of Staff, the First Deputy Commander of the Siberian Military District.

[3] On 17 March 2014, the European Union included Galkin in the sanctions list of persons whose assets are frozen in the EU and in respect of whom visa restrictions have been introduced.

[4] At the end of August 2015, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that, through the headquarters of the Southern Military District, headed by Galkin, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation had led Russian troops in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.