“Sergei Ivanov”, the then largely unknown Mr Putin responded.
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The Kremlin and Ivanov himself offered little explanation for why he was stepping down. The 63-year-old Mr Ivanov in the televised remarks on Friday thanked Mr Putin for his “high assessment of my work during the past 17 years”. “They are always there for him”. The head of Russia’s state railways company, Vladimir Yakunin, the head of Russia’s anti-narcotics agencies, Viktor Ivanov, and chief of the presidential security service, Yevgeny Murov, have all stepped down in the past year.
Using some of his most aggressive rhetoric against Kiev since the height of the war two years ago, Putin has pledged to take counter-measures against Ukraine, which he accused of sending saboteurs into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts.
Ivanov was also removed from the Security Council – Russia’s top security body which includes Putin, chairs of the parliament and chiefs of Russia’s security services. As lower gas prices weaken the Russian economy, corruption has been on the rise. The move is the most high-profile of a string of personnel changes inside the Russian elite in recent months.
Mr. Ivanov’s deputy since 2012, Anton Vaino, has been appointed as his successor.
Ivanov served as Russia’s defense minister between March 2001 and February 2007.
While Putin’s first chief of staff, Alexander Voloshin, was in the position when Putin’s predecessor Boris Yeltsin resigned in 1999, Putin went on to appoint Dmitry Medvedev as chief of administration and he went on to become president himself and is now prime minister.
Ivanov said he had asked Putin to move him on from the post after four years and that he had done the job for four years and eight months.
But the Kremlin strongman handed over the top job to current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev before reclaiming it in 2012.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The Russian President congratulated her on her appointment and wished her success”.
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Vaino, 44, previously served as deputy head of the presidential administration.
