Nikolai Serdtsev

Nikolai Ivanovich Serdtsev (; 21 April 1948 – 4 June 2021) was a Soviet and Russian military officer and engineer. He served as head of the Russian Engineer Troops between 1999 and 2008, reaching the rank of colonel general.

Serdtsev's service in the Soviet Armed Forces began with studies at the , starting a life-long specialisation in military engineering. Assigned to the after graduation, he worked his way up through the ranks to more senior positions. He furthered his expertise with studies at the , and served in Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War in command of an independent engineer battalion.

Serdtsev's career culminated with the command of the Engineering Troops of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, between 1999 and his retirement in 2008. He continued to work as a researcher, having received several academic distinctions, as well as awards from the Soviet and Russian militaries, and the Russian Orthodox Church, prior to his death in 2021 at the age of 73.

Early life and career Serdtsev was born on 21 April 1948 in Chelyabinsk, which was then part of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union, into a worker's family. He was assigned in September that year to the , initially as a platoon commander, and then from May 1973 as a deputy chief of staff of an independent engineer battalion. This was followed in October 1974 with a posting as chief of staff and deputy battalion commander.

In retirement Serdtsev lived in Moscow. He was married, with a son and a daughter.