Igor Dmitrievich Sergun, head of the group. How and where did the chief intelligence officer of Russia actually die?

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, the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the information of the Stratfor agency "does not correspond to reality."

Information about the death of General Sergun in Lebanon, Stratfor issued with reference to the data of an anonymous source. At the same time, the agency's analysts made a reservation that the presence of a high-ranking GRU general in Lebanon, "which is the focus of all the world's intelligence services," raises many questions. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has not yet officially reacted to the statements of the American company, however, a high-ranking officer of the General Staff assured Kommersant that these data are not confirmed: 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. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed their condolences the next day. The latter noted that under the leadership of Igor Sergun, the Russian military intelligence system “was further developed, functioned with due efficiency, and timely 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 (later he was 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 Operational Directorate of the General Staff on the nuances of the Russian air operation in Syria. Based on the characteristics of the work, he practically did not appear in public. The last time journalists saw General Sergun was on November 24 at the Bocharov Ruchei presidential residence in Sochi: he was included in the Russian delegation participating in negotiations with King Abdullah II of Jordan. It should be noted that General Sergun became the second high-ranking military man to die recently: on December 27, Major General Alexander Shushukin, deputy commander of the Airborne Forces, who also took part in the Crimean operation, died. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

So far, one of Igor Sergun's deputies has taken the post of interim chief of the GRU, however, according to Kommersant, 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 the importance of the work of the GRU in Syria). It is possible that he will be a native of other special services.

Igor Sergun is a well-known Russian military leader. Headed the Main Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2016 he received the title of Hero of Russia. He rose to the rank of Colonel General. In early 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. In the same part, he began to receive education.

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 Soviet 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 ended up in military intelligence in 1984. In the Main Intelligence Directorate, he served in various positions, his knowledge of several foreign languages ​​contributed to his career advancement.

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

At the very end, he was appointed head of the main department of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces. And 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.

Job evaluation

A rather high assessment of the work of the hero of our article was given by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu. According to him, the military intelligence system, when Sergun headed it, began to work most efficiently, revealing dangerous threats and challenges to the country's security in time.

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, nor most world powers, although this happened in the spring of 2014. This led to the fact that Colonel General Igor Sergun was 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 summer 2015, Sergun, together with the best specialists of the Main Intelligence Directorate, began to develop a Russian air operation in Syria.

It is known that the last time the hero of our article appeared in public in Moscow at an international conference that was dedicated to the situation in Afghanistan. General Igor Sergun made 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 the state, which has been fighting a civil war for many years, to convey a formal proposal from the Russian president to resign. The authoritative English edition of the Financial Times (with reference to unnamed senior NATO intelligence officials) reported that Bashar al-Assad refused this proposal. Sergun's visit turned out to be fruitless.

Opinion of foreign experts

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

Thanks to these very abilities, according to most experts, the hero of our article managed to gain authority in the eyes of his superiors, establish 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 the Russian intelligence services look deplorable as long as their leaders are encouraged solely for practical reports and for guessing the desires of their immediate leadership.

Mysterious death

The death of Sergun became known on January 3, 2016. According to official Russian sources, he suddenly died at the age of 59, when he was in the Moscow region in the Moskvich rest house, which is in the department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The cause of such a sudden death of an officer 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 President of Russia Dmitry Peskov. Vladimir Putin himself offered 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 the reorganization of the Main Intelligence Directorate carried out by him from 2011 to 2015.

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

The hero of our article was a candidate of military sciences, was a member of the editorial board of the authoritative magazine "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 of a graduate of the Moscow 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 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 administration of the presidential administration.

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

“The whole life of Sergun Igor Dmitrievich, from a cadet of 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 Sergun Dmitry Igorevich as a real military officer, an experienced and competent commander, a man of great courage, a true patriot. Respected for professionalism, firmness of character, honesty and decency.

Biography, Sergun Igor Dmitrievich

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

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

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

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation in December 2011, he was appointed Chief 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, Sergun Igor Dmitrievich was awarded the title of Lieutenant General.

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.

The President of Russia expressed his condolences in connection with the death of the military leader

The Russian special 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 relatives and friends of the deceased.

The death of the head of the GRU became known from the press service of the Kremlin. The cause of death is not named, 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 concisely. He served in the Armed Forces since 1973. He studied his military specialty a lot - 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, defended his thesis for a Ph.D. In 1998, with the rank of colonel, he served as the military attache of the Russian Federation in Tirana.

Igor Sergun spoke several foreign languages. He 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.

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

"The whole life of Igor Dmitrievich - from a cadet of 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 military officer, an experienced and competent commander, a man of great courage, a true patriot, respected for professionalism, firmness of character, honesty and decency,” the presidential telegram reads.

In an American magazineDefficiencyOne” published an obituary about the late head of the GRU, Igor Sergun. The author, an American intelligence officer, General Peter Zwak, was well acquainted with him. http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2016/02/death-gru-commander/125567/?oref=d-dontmiss

The obituary is not quite normal. It has some rather ambiguous passages that are thought provoking.
Here are some excerpts from the obituary:
“One of the most incredible and astute proponents of personal contacts was the head of Russian military intelligence, Igor Sergun, who died suddenly on January 3,presumably from a heart attack. Sergun, who recently received the rank of Colonel General, was only 58 years old.It is not enough even for a work-weary and stressed-out Russian man.”
“...Although Sergun tirelessly led global intelligence operations against our interests,he - paradoxically - believed that constant confrontation with the United States and the West was contrary to Russia's long-term interests. .

“General Sergun clearly attached great importance to such exchanges (with American intelligence officers - V.P.), which showed that he was striving not just to learn more about our military potential and plans. If I were a Russian fixated on real and perceived threats to the existence of my homeland, concerned about the viability of my vast northern country with its demographic problems, I would be seriously alarmed. I think that's exactlygeostrategic concerns of the new time pushed Sergun and other high-ranking leaders to such meetings with us" .
“The last time I met with Sergun at the end of 2013, a few months before the breakup. I asked for a meeting to convey a message, and this important and influential intelligence general himself easily arrived in modest civilian clothes. He took the document and we talked briefly about the planned visit to the US by a group of senior GRU officers. Of course, after the Russian invasion of Crimea, this idea failed.”

And the final passage:
“So what's next? The state of affairs, despite some minor improvements, remains very negative. We need to look for full-fledged opportunities for dialogue, for joint work with Russian military partners on geostrategic issues of mutual interest. And there are many such questions. Despite divisions and frustrating disinformation, we must persevere in this direction. Countries, especially those that are traditionally opposing rivals and can pose an existential threat to each other, have an obligation to communicate constantly and intensively through a wide variety of channels and levels, including through military and intelligence channels. This is hardly a sign of weakness or compliance; rather, it is a manifestation of strength, confidence and prudence, showing that we are quite comfortable in our own skin.

Of course, we can all learn this from a difficult person, Colonel-General Sergun.”http://inosmi.ru/politic/20160206/235305194.html
With this obituary, the American general, as it were, declares a motivational alibi for the American intelligence services.
If not the Americans, then who? MI6, Turks, Saudis or...
I already wrote about a strange article in the pro-Kremlin resource Vzglyad.ru. There, talking about the new head of the GRU, they laid out all the personnel ins and outs of military intelligence. Stupidity, similar to treason.
In his obituary, Peter Znak quite clearly hints that Sergun's position could cause someone's discontent and go against the grain, so to speak.
Well, I'm not a general yet, and I don't have any undercover or technical insider information on this topic at hand. So I leave it to the astute reader to ponder all these oddities for themselves. And keep the fruits of those thoughts to yourself. Anything else is useless.
By the way, it is quite possible and most likely most likely that there are no hints in the obituary of the American general, but my imagination just ran wild.
In Moscow, stalls are being demolished with might and main, and here we are sad about some scouts.