On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin dismissed one of his long-time allies and former defense minister Sergei Ivanov, who is the special representative of the president on environmental protection, ecology and transportation. The Kremlin decided in favor of this, saying that it was Ivanov himself who wanted to leave the office.
Spokesman of Kremlin Dmitry Peskov addressed the media that Ivanov himself requested President Putin to free him of his duties. A formal decree declaring the dismissal was made soon after Ivanov celebrated his 73rd birthday. Although the decree did not give any additional grounds of the decision, the Kremlin stressed that the action was done on the basis of the request by Ivanov himself.
According to the Russian legislation, the majority of civil servants must retire at the age of 65. Service extensions are allowed, but normally to the age of 70. In 2021, though, an amendment was made to the civil service law in Russia which gave the president the power to certify further service past that age of senior officials to hold high level positions. This has allowed President Putin to keep some of his loyalists in position in government even after their normal retirement age such as Ivanov.
In 2016, Sergei Ivanov was commissioned as the presidential special representative to the environmental protection, ecology, and transportation. As the holder of that position, he chaired issues dealing with the environment policy and the coordination of transport and represented the president on its issues. He assumed office after a long history of high government and security work where he was a high profile service in the political and administrative apparatus of Russia.
Before his work as a special representative, Ivanov worked as a chief of staffs of the Presidential Executive Office, which is one of the most powerful posts in the Russian government. Previously in his career, he served as a defense minister and deputy prime minister in the early 2000s, at which time he was directly engaged in the formulation of the policies of the Russian defense and security.
The professional experience of Ivanov goes even deeper in the Soviet period. He served as an elder officer in the KGB, the primary security service of the Soviet Union and in its successive body, the Federal Security Service (FSB). He became a colonel general and retired to active duty. He served a long career in the security services which helped him to gain credibility in the political elite of Russia.
Ivanov has not fully retired out of office even after resigning his position as a special representative. As mentioned by the state news agency TASS of Russia, he has remained as one of the 13 permanent members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Security Council represents one of the most important advisory boards that deliberate on issues touching on national security, defense and foreign policies and permanent members of the council usually have a lot of say when it comes to strategic decision making.
The dismissal is a symbolic shift in the duties of Ivanov yet a non-significant exit of the state apparatus. The fact that he continues to be a member of the Security Council implies that he is still going to contribute towards deliberations on the key issues of the nation. Similarly, the Kremlin is not said to have decided on a successor to the former position of Ivanov and it is not mentioned how their responsibilities will be distributed.
On balance, the development can be seen as a normal change in personnel in the Russian leadership system, which is implemented under the legal conditions that already exist and on the order of the concerned official.