The first marshal of Russia died

Igor Dmitrievich Sergeev headed the Russian military department from 1997 to 2001. This was a period when the state practically stopped funding the Armed Forces: officers did not receive salaries for six months. Thanks in no small part to Sergeev, it was possible to maintain control over the army and save it from collapse. Moreover, it was then that the production and deployment of the new Topol-M missile system began, which will form the basis of the country’s nuclear forces.