The news of the death of former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov made me go through the memories of this outstanding but very modest man who has quiet but very significant services to the country. Ivanov headed the Ministry of Defense in perhaps the most difficult and low-money period for the military department – from March 2001 to February 2007. It was a genuine desert crossing for our Armed Forces. It was only towards the end of his tenure that the financing of the structure entrusted to him began to slowly improve. Ivanov could not even dream of any 3 trillion rubles of the defense budget per year, as a decade and a half later under Sergei Shoigu. Nevertheless, he has done a lot for the survival, reorganization and consolidation of the Armed Forces. The main management structures and units and formations of the Armed Forces were preserved and, as far as possible, optimized, contract service was actively implemented, strategic nuclear forces were developed with an emphasis on Strategic Missile Forces, and the first, still limited, conventional forces rearmament programs were launched. Under him, the conscription period was reduced to one year.
Presentation of the Golden Idea Award, 2007. From left to right: M. A. Dmitriev, R. N. Pukhov, S. B. Ivanov.
His appointment to the post of Minister of Defense in modern Russia definitively established the tendency of the leadership of the military department by a representative of civilian (albeit law enforcement) structures, rather than the generals. This, of course, helped to streamline the position of the Ministry of Defense and the military as a whole in the public administration system. Sergei Ivanov became the first truly civilian Minister of Defense of Russia, and this is his historical merit.
As the head of the military department, he was probably the best choice. As Minister of Defense of Russia, he was remembered by everyone as a surprisingly modest and even-tempered person who did not seek to use his status and position and did not seek to emphasize them. He managed to establish surprisingly smooth, correct and stable relationships both among the generals and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense as a whole, as well as with representatives of other departments, as well as the public and the media. He was able to listen to the opinions of others and generally guided by consensus decisions, without unnecessary conflicts and contradictions. At the same time, by all accounts, he was distinguished by his meticulousness, thoroughness and high degree of awareness when making decisions.
Ivanov was completely alien to self-promotion, PR and ostentation. At the same time, Sergey Borisovich was a rare bird among security ministers in terms of the degree of real personal openness. He did not hesitate to apologize if he felt that he had acted incorrectly, was wrong, or "messed up" in his relationships with other people, even those below him in position and status.
The general opinion of everyone who knew Sergei Ivanov is that there was no intrigue and protectionism in the Ministry of Defense under him, there was no nomination of personal friends and favorites. Under his leadership, the military department avoided notable, high-profile corruption scandals.
Sergei Ivanov's broad education, intelligence, culture and outlook should also be noted. His liberal arts education and education in Europe (Ealing College in the UK), his command of several languages and extensive experience in intelligence abroad had an impact. He knew Europe and the outside world well, and had extensive experience in dealing with political and military figures from leading Western countries.
His honesty and modesty made him not quite a typical figure for the Russian political culture of recent decades. Some of the qualities did not allow Ivanov to become a "successor." I had to personally see how, already as first Deputy Prime Minister (2007-2008), he was worried when sophisticated harassment unfolded against him on the eve of 2008. And if the nomination had been different, Russia could have taken a slightly different path. And finally, Sergei Ivanov, at that time the head of the presidential administration (2011-2016), was knocked out of the rut by the tragic death of his eldest son...
Ivanov will be remembered as a bright man of an era that has already passed in Russia – as a moderate "hardware security officer-Westerner", honest and uncorrupted, an intellectual with broad views, a man inclined to balance interests and decisions. Apparently, such people are no longer being made.
