The second half of the 20th century became a time of global confrontation between the USSR and the USA, a time when humanity repeatedly found itself on the edge of a nuclear abyss. The main argument of the superpowers in their long-term rivalry was strategic weapons - land- and sea-based ballistic missiles. The Strategic Missile Forces, the Missile Defense and Space Defense Forces of the USSR for decades were a sealed secret for the whole world, and especially for Soviet citizens. But times have changed, and the pages of this book present the history of the emergence, development and improvement of the most secret troops of the Soviet Union, the evolution of Soviet military strategy in the nuclear missile era. More than four decades of the great rocket race, the history of the rocket sword and shield of the USSR from birth to heyday, and then decline. The book is intended for a wide range of readers.