Death and Legacy
On November 7, 1984, Ustinov was not present as expected in presiding over the annual Red Square Military Parade on the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution; First Deputy Defense Minister Marshal Sergey Sokolov stood in for Ustinov in inspecting the troops, and delivering the commemoration speech during the parade instead. Ustinov had contracted pneumonia in late October. Emergency surgery had to be performed to correct an aneurysm in the aortic valve. His liver and kidneys later deteriorated. Eventually, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died. He was honoured with a state funeral, and his ashes were interred in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis on 24 December.
Upon his death, the city of Izhevsk was renamed after him. However, under Mikhail Gorbachev, cities that had been renamed for recent Soviet leaders were reverted back to their former names. The Baltic State Technical Military-Mechanical University in Saint Petersburg changed its name to the Ustinov Baltic State Technical Military-Mechanical University.
For many decades Ustinov placed importance on research and development in many directions, with a particular emphasis on military history, sciences and technologies. Under his direction, efforts were made to modernize the USSR's ICBM and missile technologies. Ustinov also wrote several books throughout his life, including: "Selected Speeches and Articles" (1979), and "To serve my country - the cause of Communism" (1982).
In honor of the soldier and minister a warship is named after him.
Read more about this topic: Dmitry Ustinov
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