Sergei Ivanov’s – Sergei Ivanov, Russia’s ex-defense minister and one-time figure widely seen as a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, died Friday at age 73. The Kremlin did not cite a cause of death; Putin sent condolences. Ivanov later served as deputy prime minis
Sergei Ivanov, once seen as Vladimir Putin’s most likely successor, died Friday at age 73, the Kremlin said, offering no explanation for the cause of death.
Putin sent his condolences to Ivanov’s family.
Ivanov’s rise inside the Kremlin came alongside Putin’s ascent. In 2001, Putin appointed Ivanov, a fellow KGB veteran, as defense minister. Ivanov held the post until 2007, overseeing the second war in Chechnya—an operation that crushed the region’s separatist bid.
When Putin decided to step down due to term limits and move into the prime minister’s role in 2008. Ivanov was widely viewed as the leading candidate to carry the presidency temporarily. Instead, Putin chose another longtime associate, Dmitry Medvedev, treating him as a placeholder until Putin reclaimed the presidency in 2012. Some observers argued Ivanov was sidelined because Putin judged him too ambitious. potentially able to use the opening to try to stay in the presidential seat.
Ivanov remained close to Putin after losing the succession track. He served as deputy prime minister from 2007 to 2011, and then worked as the Kremlin’s chief of staff from 2011 to 2016.
By 2016, Ivanov was assigned a different kind of job: a presidential envoy for environment protection and transport. The role carried no political weight and was widely regarded as an honorary retirement. Ivanov stepped down earlier this year.
As his career shifted from high command to ceremonial oversight, his name still landed on lists that matter in today’s era of economic and political pressure. Along with other Russian top officials, Ivanov has been targeted by U.S. and EU sanctions in response to Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.
The sequence of Ivanov’s decades-long relationship with Putin has often been described through proximity and timing—an appointment. a war ministry. a succession conversation. and then years moving through the Kremlin’s upper machinery. Friday’s death closes another chapter in a story that has. for many years. been tied to the question of who could stand closest to Putin when the spotlight shifted.
Sergei Ivanov Vladimir Putin Russia defense minister Chechnya Kremlin chief of staff Dmitry Medvedev environment protection and transport US sanctions EU sanctions Ukraine