The Kremlin confirmed on Friday the passing of Sergei Ivanov, the former Russian Defense Minister, who was 73 years old. Ivanov, a one-time KGB associate of Vladimir Putin, held the position of defense minister from 2001 until 2007 and was once considered a potential successor before Dmitry Medvedev assumed the presidency in 2008. He later took on the role of Kremlin chief of staff but was reassigned to a more subdued envoy position in 2016. His death could heighten attention on the aging leadership within Russia's security apparatus.
