Image: from Visegrád 24 X @visegrad24
By Open Chronicle with Agencies
MOSCOW, June 26, 2026, Sergei Ivanov, the former Russian defense minister and one of President Vladimir Putin’s closest longtime allies, has died at the age of 73, the Kremlin announced on Friday.
The Kremlin did not disclose the cause of death or provide further details. Putin extended his condolences to Ivanov’s family, marking the passing of one of the most influential figures in Russia’s post Soviet political and security establishment.
A longtime ally of Putin
Ivanov and Putin first met during the 1970s while serving as young officers in the Soviet KGB in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg. Their decades-long relationship helped shape Russia’s political leadership after Putin rose to power.
Following Putin’s election as president in 2000, Ivanov was appointed secretary of Russia’s Security Council before becoming defense minister in 2001.
During his six years leading the Defense Ministry, Ivanov oversaw Russia’s military operations in the Second Chechen War, a campaign that ended the region’s separatist insurgency and reinforced Moscow’s control over Chechnya.
Once viewed as Putin’s successor
By the mid 2000s, Ivanov had become one of the most powerful figures in the Russian government and was widely regarded as the leading candidate to succeed Putin when constitutional term limits prevented him from seeking a third consecutive presidential term in 2008.
Instead, Putin selected Dmitry Medvedev to become president while he moved into the role of prime minister, returning to the presidency in 2012.
Political analysts at the time suggested that Ivanov’s perceived independence and political ambitions may have contributed to Putin’s decision to choose Medvedev as his successor.
Continued influence in the Kremlin
Despite not becoming president, Ivanov remained one of Putin’s closest advisers.
He served as deputy prime minister between 2007 and 2011 before being appointed Kremlin chief of staff, a position he held until 2016.
Later that year, he was reassigned as presidential envoy for environmental protection and transport, a role largely viewed as ceremonial and marking his gradual withdrawal from frontline politics. He stepped down from that position earlier this year.
Sanctioned after the Ukraine conflict
Following Russia’s military action in Ukraine, Ivanov became one of several senior Russian officials targeted by sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union.
Although his direct political influence had diminished in recent years, Ivanov remained a prominent figure in Russia’s security establishment and was closely associated with the consolidation of Putin’s power during the first two decades of his presidency.
His death closes the chapter on one of the last remaining members of Putin’s original inner circle from the KGB era.