Sergei Ivanov, one of Putin's closest allies, has died
Sergei Ivanov, the former head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, former defense minister, and one of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, has died at the age of 73.
Sergei Ivanov was a career intelligence officer and had known Putin since their days working together at the Leningrad KGB in the 1970s.
In 2001, he became Russia’s first civilian defense minister, and from 2011 to 2016, he headed the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.
After stepping down from that position, Ivanov served as the Russian president’s special representative on environmental issues. In early February 2026, he left that post and was subsequently removed from the Russian Security Council.
We previously reported that Slavenka Drakulic, one of Croatia’s most famous writers and columnists, had passed away. The author died at the age of 76 shortly after the release of her new book, *Why I Never Learned to Cook*.
Earlier, director and producer James Burrows, who was behind the creation of dozens of popular TV series, including “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory,” died in the United States. He was 85 years old. Over the course of more than half a century in the industry, he directed over a thousand episodes and became one of the most successful directors in the history of American television.
