The President of Russia expressed condolences on the death of the military leader

Russian intelligence services have suffered an irreparable loss. In Moscow, at the age of 59, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Igor Dmitrievich Sergun, died. The President of the Russian Federation expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

The death of the head of the GRU became known from the Kremlin press service. The cause of death is not stated, it is only noted that it was sudden.

The biography of Igor Sergun, as a true representative of the special services, is presented in open sources quite succinctly. He served in the Armed Forces since 1973. He studied a lot about his military specialty - he graduated from the Moscow Suvorov Military School, the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the Soviet Military Academy, the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and defended his dissertation for a Ph.D. In 1998, with the rank of colonel, he served as the military attaché of the Russian Federation in Tirana.

Igor Sergun spoke several foreign languages. Was awarded state awards. Married, has two daughters.

With the rank of Major General, Igor Sergun headed the GRU at the end of 2011, replacing Colonel General Alexander Shlyakhturov in this position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin press service, sent a telegram of condolences to the relatives of the deceased.

“Igor Dmitrievich’s whole life - from a cadet at the Suvorov Military School to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate - deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia - was devoted to serving the Motherland, the Armed Forces. Colleagues and subordinates knew him as a real combat officer, an experienced and competent commander, a man of great courage, a true patriot was respected for his professionalism, strength of character, honesty and decency,” the president’s telegram says.

The American private intelligence agency Stratfor reported that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, General Igor Sergun, died not on January 3 in the Moscow region, but on January 1 in Lebanon. The General Staff does not confirm this information. In turn, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the information from the Stratfor agency “does not correspond to reality.”

Stratfor released information about the death of General Sergun in Lebanon with reference to data from an anonymous source. At the same time, agency analysts made a reservation that the fact of the presence of a high-ranking GRU general in Lebanon, “which is the center of work for all the world’s intelligence services,” raises many questions. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has not yet officially responded to the statements of the American company, but a high-ranking General Staff officer assured Kommersant that these data are not confirmed: “Many will try to extract political dividends from the death of Igor Dmitrievich (Sergun - Kommersant), there will be many speculation." According to him, the general died of acute heart failure, and this happened during the New Year holidays, which Igor Sergun spent in the Moscow region.

According to the Ministry of Defense, General Sergun died suddenly on January 3 at the age of 59. The next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed their condolences. The latter noted that under the leadership of Igor Sergun, the Russian military intelligence system “received its further development, functioned with proper efficiency, and promptly revealed new challenges and threats to the security of the Russian Federation.” In particular, it was General Sergun who was directly involved in the planning and implementation of the operation to annex Crimea to Russia in February-March 2014 (he was subsequently included in the sanctions lists of the United States, the European Union, Canada and Ukraine), and since mid-summer he has been actively working with colleagues from the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, the nuances of Russia’s air operation in Syria. Due to the nature of his work, he practically did not appear in public. The last time journalists saw General Sergun was on November 24 at the Sochi presidential residence “Bocharov Ruchey”: he was included in the Russian delegation participating in negotiations with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Let us note that General Sergun became the second high-ranking military man to die recently: on December 27, the deputy commander of the Airborne Forces, Major General Alexander Shushukin, who also took part in the Crimean operation, died. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

So far, the post of acting head of the GRU has been taken by one of Igor Sergun’s deputies, however, according to Kommersant’s information, the final decision on the candidacy of the new head of military intelligence has not yet been made, but neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Kremlin will delay the choice (taking into account importance of the GRU's work in Syria). It is possible that they will come from other special services.

“The whole life of Sergun Igor Dmitrievich, from a cadet at the Suvorov Military School to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, was dedicated to serving the Motherland and the Armed Forces. Colleagues and subordinates knew Sergun Dmitry Igorevich as a real military officer, an experienced and competent commander, a man of great courage, a true patriot. They were respected for their professionalism, strength of character, honesty and decency.”

Biography, Sergun Igor Dmitrievich

Sergun Igor Born March 28, 1957. In the Armed Forces since 1973. He graduated from the Moscow Suvorov School, the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the Academy of the Soviet Army, and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces.

In military intelligence since 1984. He served in various positions in the Main Intelligence Directorate. Speaks several foreign languages. Awarded state awards.

In 1998, with the rank of colonel, he served as the military attache of the Russian Federation in the capital of Albania, Tirana.

By decree of the President of the Russian Federation in December 2011, he was appointed head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 31, 2012 No. 1240, Igor Dmitrievich Sergun was awarded the rank of “Lieutenant General”.

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of February 21, 2015 No. 91 Igor Dmitrievich Sergun was awarded the title of “Colonel General”.

Candidate of Military Sciences.

Igor Dmitrievich Sergun was born on March 28, 1957. Sergun began his career in the Armed Forces in 1973. Igor Dmitrievich is a graduate of the Moscow Suvorov Military School, the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Sergun received his first higher education at the Military Academy of the Soviet Army, and his second at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Igor Dmitrievich has served in military intelligence since 1984 and held various positions in the Main Intelligence Directorate. Sergun speaks several foreign languages. Has many state awards.

In 1998, Igor Dmitrievich served as the military attache of the Russian Federation with the rank of colonel in Tirana.

According to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, on December 26, 2011, Sergun was appointed head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

On August 31, 2012, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Igor Dmitrievich Sergun was awarded the rank of “lieutenant general.”

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Igor Sergun is a famous Russian military leader. Headed the Main Directorate of the RF Armed Forces. In 2016 he received the title of Hero of Russia. He rose to the rank of Colonel General. At the beginning of 2016, he died under mysterious circumstances.

Biography of an officer

Igor Sergun was born in 1957. He was born in Podolsk near Moscow. He entered the Soviet army in 1973. He began to receive education in the same field.

First, in the biography of Igor Dmitrievich Sergun there was the Suvorov School, then the Higher Command School, which bore the name of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, which was based in Moscow.

Also, the hero of our article graduated from two military academies of the Soviet army and the Russian General Staff.

Career path

Igor Sergun found himself in military intelligence in 1984. He served in various positions in the Main Intelligence Directorate; his career advancement was facilitated by his knowledge of several foreign languages.

In 1998, Igor Sergun served in Tirana and received honorary state awards.

At the very end, he was appointed head of the main directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. And already in the summer of next year he received the rank of lieutenant general. In February 2016, President Vladimir Putin approved a decree appointing Igor Dmitrievich Sergun as colonel general.

Performance evaluation

The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, gave a fairly high assessment of the work of the hero of our article. According to him, the military intelligence system, when Sergun headed it, began to work most effectively, promptly revealing dangerous threats and challenges to the country's security.

In particular, the head of the GRU, Igor Sergun, personally participated in the development and implementation of the operation to hold a referendum in Crimea, after which the peninsula became part of the Russian Federation. This is one of the most resonant operations of the Russian leadership in recent years, since the inclusion of Crimea into Russia is still not supported by either Ukraine, to which it previously belonged, or the majority of world powers, although this happened in the spring of 2014. This led to Colonel General Igor Sergun being included in the sanctions lists of the United States of America, Australia, Canada and Ukraine as one of the key characters who contributed to undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In the middle of the summer of 2015, Sergun, together with the best specialists of the Main Intelligence Directorate, began developing a Russian military air operation in Syria.

It is known that the last time the hero of our article appeared in public was in Moscow at an international conference that was dedicated to the situation in Afghanistan. General Igor Sergun delivered a detailed report in which he analyzed in detail the recruiting activity of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia, and also gave a forecast about its goals and the development of the situation in Afghanistan.

According to some media reports, at the end of 2015, Sergun, on the personal instructions of President Vladimir Putin, unofficially visited the Syrian capital of Damascus. He met with the president of a state that has been in civil war for many years to convey a formal offer from the Russian president to resign. The authoritative English publication Financial Times (with reference to unnamed senior NATO intelligence officials) reported that Bashar al-Assad refused this proposal. Sergun's visit was unsuccessful.

Opinion of foreign experts

Foreign experts, emphasizing the importance of Sergun’s work, always noted that he very sensitively felt what his immediate leadership in the Kremlin wanted from him, and acted exactly following their instructions.

Thanks to these abilities, according to most experts, the hero of our article managed to gain authority in the eyes of his superiors, organize the work of the Main Intelligence Directorate, and strengthen the position of this department after it had been in disgrace for many years.

At the same time, analyzing Sergun’s work, Western experts came to the conclusion that the prospects for Russian intelligence services look dismal as long as their leaders are rewarded solely for efficient reports and for guessing the desires of their immediate leadership.

Mysterious death

Sergun's death became known on January 3, 2016. According to official Russian sources, he died suddenly at the age of 59, while he was in the Moskvich rest home in the Moscow region, which is part of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The cause of the officer’s sudden death was a massive heart attack.

Western media and researchers adhere to a different version. For example, a private analytical intelligence company from the United States, citing its own anonymous sources, claimed that Sergun actually died on January 1, 2016 in Lebanon.

This information was officially denied by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. Vladimir Putin himself brought condolences to Sergun’s family and friends. The Colonel General was buried in Moscow at the Troekurovsky cemetery.

Posthumous award

A few months after his death, it became known that Sergun had already been posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Thus, President Vladimir Putin noted his successful service in Syria, as well as his reorganization of the Main Intelligence Directorate from 2011 to 2015.

Sergun was also credited with the high results of the military intelligence service’s activities in collecting and searching for operational information on secret military equipment and the latest weapons being developed in other countries.

The hero of our article was a candidate of military sciences and was a member of the editorial board of the authoritative journal "Military Thought".

Personal life

Sergun was married and raised two daughters. In 1990, Elena was born, and ten years earlier Olga.

It is known that Olga Sergun in 2003 received a diploma from the capital’s Law Academy with a degree in Jurisprudence. After that, she held various positions in the Moscow Department of Land Resources. For example, from 2013 to 2015 she was deputy head of the legal support department, specializing in the field of land relations.

In 2015, she received the post of general director of the state unitary enterprise "Center for Financial and Legal Support", which worked under the auspices of the department of affairs of the presidential administration.

In the summer of 2016, Olga Sergun became deputy chief of staff of the President of Russia.