The former Russian Defense Minister was once widely seen as a potential contender to succeed the current president
Former Russian Defense Minister and longtime confidant of President Vladimir Putin, Sergey Ivanov, has died at the age of 73, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on Friday.
Ivanov began his career in the late 1970s as a KGB officer in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, where he first met Putin. He later recalled that they shared an office during their time in the Soviet security service.
Fluent in English, he spent a decade in the KGB’s foreign intelligence branch, undertaking assignments in the UK, Finland, and Kenya, according to Russian media. Years later, Ivanov told reporters that he had also learned Swedish during his stint as a KGB operative.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ivanov joined the newly created Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) before moving to the Federal Security Service (FSB). There, he rose to become deputy director under Putin, who headed the agency in the late 1990s.
During that period, Russia was hit by a series of major terrorist attacks carried out by Chechen Islamist militants – events that preceded the Second Chechen War. Amid the conflict, Ivanov was appointed secretary of Russia’s Security Council.
He served as defense minister from 2001 to 2007, overseeing the early stages of a sweeping military reform aimed at building a more professional armed force by expanding contract service and reducing reliance on conscription.
Ahead of Russia’s 2008 presidential election, Ivanov was widely seen as one of the leading contenders to succeed Putin at the end of the president’s second term, alongside Dmitry Medvedev. Ivanov, however, repeatedly dismissed speculation about presidential ambitions.
After Putin endorsed Medvedev’s candidacy, Ivanov backed the nomination. Following Medvedev’s election victory, Putin became prime minister, with Ivanov serving as deputy prime minister.
When Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, Ivanov was appointed head of the presidential administration, a position he held until 2016.
For the last decade, Ivanov served as Putin’s special representative for environmental protection and ecology before stepping down in February.
Outside politics, Ivanov was an avid basketball fan with a passion for ballet and classic rock, particularly The Beatles and Pink Floyd, as he said in interviews with Russian media.
No details of Ivanov’s funeral have been announced, although Russian media have suggested he may be laid to rest in his native St. Petersburg.
