Nikolai Yevgenievich Solovtsov (; born 1 January 1949) is a retired Russian Strategic Missile Forces

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

. He joined the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

in 1966. He graduated from the Rostov Higher Military Command Engineering School named after the Chief Marshal of Artillery M. I. Nedelin (1966–1971), the

Dzerzhinsky Military Academy Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces. Russian institutions designated as an "aca ...

(1974–1977); The academic courses of the same academy (1984), and the Military Academy of the General Staff (1991, external). He was promoted to colonel general in 1995. He commanded the 35th Rocket Division (1984–89), the

53rd Rocket Army The 53rd Rocket Army (Military Unit Number 74102) was an army of the Soviet, later Russian Strategic Rocket Forces. It was created on June 8, 1970 from the 8th Independent Missile Corps (established 1962), under Colonel-General Yury Zabegaylov. Its ...

, and later became Commander,

Strategic Rocket Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; ) is a military branch, separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinenta ...

(April 27, 2001 - July–August 2009). He was the first officer to occupy the post as Commander, rather than as Commander-in-Chief, of the SRF. In early 2009 Solovtsov said that 96% of all Russian ICBMs were ready to be launched within a minute's notice. Solovtsov was dismissed in July–August 2009. Speculation over why Solovtsov was dismissed included opposition to further cuts in deployed nuclear ballistic missile warheads below the April 2009 figure of 1,500, the fact that he had reached the retirement age of 60, despite that he had recently been extended another year's service, or the failure of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

's Bulava missile.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Solovtsov, Nikolai 1949 births Soviet major generals Russian colonel generals Living people People from East Kazakhstan Region Commanders of the Strategic Rocket Forces Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Rocket Forces alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni