Ex-Russian minister once seen as Putin successor dies
Former Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov, once seen as a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, has died.
He was 73 years old.
The Kremlin said Ivanov died on Friday, but no cause of death or other details were given.
Putin expressed his condolences to Ivanov’s family.
Ivanov’s death was announced, rather inappropriately, by the VTB United League, a basketball organization for the first time, of which Ivanov was the honorary president.
It was later confirmed by the Kremlin.
In 2001, Putin appointed Ivanov, a KGB veteran, as defense minister; Ivanov held this post until 2007, leading the second war in Chechnya that disrupted the region’s separatist bid.
When Putin resigned due to term limits in 2008 and decided to take over as prime minister, Ivanov was widely seen as his most likely successor.
But Putin chose another long-time partner, Dmitry Medvedev, to replace him until he regained the presidency in 2012.
Some observers argued that Putin abandoned Ivanov’s candidacy because he viewed Ivanov as overly ambitious and feared that he might try to retain the presidency.
Fluent in English, Ivanov was a combative personality who regularly jousted with journalists at the Munich Security Conference and described himself as a pragmatist trying to move beyond Cold War divisions.
At the same time, he has repeatedly warned that Russia’s security interests are being undermined, particularly by the erosion of U.S. missile defense plans and arms control agreements.
Ivanov remained with Putin as deputy prime minister from 2007 to 2011, and then served as the Kremlin’s private secretary from 2011 to 2016.
Ivanov was named presidential ambassador for environmental protection and transportation in 2016; this was a post that carried no political weight and was widely viewed as an honorary retirement.
He resigned earlier this year.
Ivanov, along with other senior Russian officials, has been the target of US and European Union sanctions in response to Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
Ivanov framed the expansion of the NATO military alliance as a strategic concern for Russia and has repeatedly argued that security in Europe should be built on “mutual respect for the concerns and interests of all parties.”
Years later, Putin would regard the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a necessary response to NATO’s intrusion into Russia’s sphere of influence; A characterization rejected by Ukraine and its allies as a spurious justification for war.
via Reuters
