1. Igor Dmitriyevich Sergeyev was a Soviet and later Russian military officer who was Minister of Defense of Russia from 22 May 1997 to 28 March 2001.
13 Facts About Igor Sergeyev
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Igor Sergeyev was the first and, as of 2025, the only Marshal of the Russian Federation.
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From 1971 to 1973, Igor Sergeyev studied at the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Soviet Union, from which he graduated with honors.
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From 1978 to 1980, Igor Sergeyev studied at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
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In 1994, Igor Sergeyev received an academic degree of the doctor of technical sciences with a thesis on combat control systems.
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On 22 May 1997, Igor Sergeyev was appointed Minister of Defense of Russia in 1997 by the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin.
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Igor Sergeyev was promoted to Marshal of the Russian Federation on 21 November 1997.
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Marshal Igor Sergeyev accepted reform within a limited budget under civilian political control.
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Igor Sergeyev directed most of his efforts toward promoting the interests of the Strategic Rocket Forces.
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In December 1999, Marshal Igor Sergeyev called NATO enlargement, in and of itself, a threat to global and European collective security and world politics.
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Igor Sergeyev particularly stressed the deployment and use of NATO forces out of area without a United Nations or OSCE mandate as a threat that devalues confidence-building measures, arms control treaties and security.
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Igor Sergeyev was dismissed as defense minister in March 2001 and was replaced by Sergei Ivanov.
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Marshal Igor Sergeyev is blamed by some for not effectively acting during the War of Dagestan in 1999 but is praised for the fact that the Russian military captured the Chechen capital Grozny in 2000 during the Second Chechen War.