Sergei Ivanov, a former Russian defence minister, chief of the presidential administration, and one of Vladimir Putin’s longest-serving associates, has died at the age of 73. The VTB United League basketball organisation, where Ivanov served as honorary president, announced his death on Friday without specifying a cause. Russian media later cited unnamed sources suggesting he had been suffering from a severe, long-term illness. Ivanov had stepped down in February 2026 from his last official post as special presidential representative for environmental protection, ecology and transport, and was subsequently removed from the Security Council, a body he had belonged to since 1999.

Ivanov’s career was intertwined with Putin’s from the late 1970s, when both served in the Leningrad KGB directorate. After the Soviet collapse, Ivanov remained in foreign intelligence, rising to senior positions before Putin brought him into the Federal Security Service (FSB) as deputy director in 1998. He went on to become secretary of the Security Council and, in 2001, Russia’s first civilian defence minister, a post he held until 2007. During Putin’s second presidential term, Ivanov was widely seen as a leading contender to succeed him, competing with Dmitry Medvedev. According to accounts in Russian media, Putin ultimately chose Medvedev, and Ivanov later served as deputy prime minister and, from 2011 to 2016, as head of the presidential administration. In 2016 he was moved to the environmental portfolio, a role described by Moscow-based analysts as a ceremonial post that removed him from the centre of power.

The Kremlin responded with a statement of condolence. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had sent a telegram to Ivanov’s family, calling the death “a very sad news for the entire presidential administration and, of course, especially for President Putin.” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin praised Ivanov as a patriot who had made a “weighty contribution to strengthening sovereignty and defence capability.” Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, described him as someone who “selflessly served Russia.” The VTB United League credited Ivanov with a key role in founding and developing the basketball tournament.

Ivanov’s death removes one of the last figures from the early Putin era who held top security and political posts. Viewed from European capitals, he was a representative of the siloviki—the security-service elite—though some analysts in Moscow note he kept a distance from factional infighting. His later years were marked by personal tragedy: the death of his elder son Alexander in 2014, which Russian media reports said contributed to his decision to step back from frontline politics. No information on funeral arrangements has been released, and the Kremlin has not indicated whether a state ceremony will be held.