Sergei Ivanov One of Putin’s Closest Kremlin Allies Dead at 73

Sergei Ivanov, who once ran Russia’s defense ministry and served as the Kremlin’s powerful chief of staff, passed away at 73. He was among President Vladimir Putin’s most trusted and long-standing political allies.

Sergei Ivanov One of Putin’s Closest Kremlin Allies Dead at 73

A powerful figure who stood by Putin for decades is gone leaving behind a legacy deeply tied to Russia’s security and political machine.

A Powerful Man Has Left the Stage

Sergei Ivanov former Russian defense chief, Kremlin chief of staff, and one of President Vladimir Putin’s most enduring allies died Friday at the age of 73. The VTB United League basketball organization, where Ivanov served as honorary president, confirmed his death. No cause of death was shared publicly. Reports from Russian exile outlet Meduza suggested Ivanov had been battling a serious, long-running illness for some time.

Putin issued a short, one-sentence statement on the Kremlin’s official website expressing “deep condolences” to Ivanov’s family and close friends. The brevity of the message was notable, given how deep and how long their bond ran.

Roots in the KGB: Where It All Began

Ivanov and Putin’s story goes back to the 1970s. Both men worked at the Leningrad directorate of the KGB that’s where they first crossed paths. While Putin eventually shifted into local politics joining the St. Petersburg mayor’s office in the early 1990s Ivanov stayed firmly inside the intelligence world. He climbed steadily through the ranks and rose to become a senior officer in Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.

Their paths crossed again in the late 1990s, as Putin moved fast through Russia’s federal power structure. Putin brought Ivanov in as his deputy at the FSB Russia’s domestic security agency in 1998. A year later, after becoming prime minister, Putin handed Ivanov the role of Secretary of Russia’s Security Council.

Defense Minister, Deputy PM, and More

From 2001 to 2007, Ivanov served as Russia’s defense minister covering almost the full stretch of Putin’s first two presidential terms. When Dmitry Medvedev stepped into the presidency, Ivanov stayed close to the center of power. He served as deputy prime minister from 2008 to 2011, while Putin himself served as prime minister under Medvedev.

In late 2011, Medvedev appointed Ivanov as chief of staff of the Presidential Administration a role that carries real weight in Russia’s political system. Ivanov held that powerful post for nearly five years, stepping down in 2016 when Putin shifted him to a lower-profile role as special representative for environmental protection and transportation.

Quietly Pushed Out : Weeks After Turning 73

February 2026 marked Ivanov’s final chapter in official Russian government life. Putin formally dismissed Ivanov from his special representative role less than a week after he turned 73. That age is three years past the standard mandatory retirement age for Russian civil servants. The quiet exit drew attention at the time and now, with his death coming just months later, it takes on a more poignant significance.

Sergei Ivanov leaves behind a career that tracked almost perfectly alongside Vladimir Putin’s own rise from the corridors of the KGB in Leningrad to the highest offices of the Russian state.