Sergey Borisovich Ivanov, Minister of Defense: biography, family

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Sergey Ivanov - Minister of Defense (2001-2007), politician, head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation - has always been single-minded. His career is a model of progressive upward movement. Ivanov is known for his imaginative and bold statements and great loy alty to the president.

Childhood and parents

On January 31, 1953, a new man was born in Leningrad - Sergei Borisovich Ivanov. Parents lived in a crowded communal apartment on Vasilyevsky Island. The boy's father died very early, and his mother raised him. She worked as an engineer, and the we alth in the family was very modest. Great help in raising her son was provided by her brother, who served as the captain of long-distance ships. He had a strong influence on the worldview and character of Sergei. As a child, Ivanov was not a problem child, he went in for sports, studied well, and did not conflict with peers.

Education

In a school with in-depth study of a foreign language, Sergei Borisovich Ivanov studied brilliantly, was one of the best students of the school. He actively participated in language competitions and school concerts. Morein adolescence, he decided to become a diplomat and strenuously went towards this goal. During his school years, he was actively involved in sports, was fond of basketball, football, hockey. But already in high school, Sergei acquired a bad habit - he began to smoke, he never managed to get rid of this vice.

After school, Ivanov easily passes to the faculty of English translators of the philological faculty of Leningrad State University. At the university, Sergei revealed himself as a bright public figure, he also continued to play sports, with his participation, the basketball team of the faculty became the champion of the university. In 1975, Ivanov successfully completed his studies and received a diploma of higher education.

First steps in career and vocational training

Sergey Borisovich Ivanovich began his professional career in the Second Directorate of the KGB of the USSR for Leningrad and the Leningrad Region, in counterintelligence. In 1976-77, he worked in the same unit with V. V. Putin. The young specialist was almost immediately sent to study at the Higher Courses of the KGB in Minsk, which he graduated in 1977. In 1982, he was trained in Moscow at the 101st Foreign Intelligence School of the KGB of the USSR.

Service in law enforcement agencies

After several years of service, Ivanov, the future Minister of Defense, goes to serve in the First Directorate of the KGB, in foreign intelligence, where he found his true calling. Since 1981, for 10 years, Ivanov worked in the Central Office of the KGB, in the First Directorate. He started from the positiondetective, several times performed secret assignments on business trips abroad, then he was secretary of the embassy in London. From the UK, according to unconfirmed reports, he was expelled on suspicion of conducting espionage activities. Since 1991, Sergei Borisovich has been working in the Foreign Intelligence Service, at the headquarters in Yasenevo. Here he worked until 1998.

When in 1998 V. V. Putin was appointed head of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, he immediately made Ivanov an offer to go to him. And already in August 1998, Sergei Borisovich was appointed director of the department for research and forecasts and deputy director of the FSB.

In 2000, Ivanov was dismissed due to age from service in the armed forces to the reserve with the rank of colonel-general.

Security Council

In early 1999, Ivanov was included in the commission for preparing for the participation of the Russian Federation in the meeting of the G8 countries. And already in November, Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed Ivanov chairman of the Security Council. The next president, V. V. Putin, also approved Sergei Borisovich in this position. He also worked in the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CIS countries. Ivanov did a great job of establishing military-technical cooperation with foreign states. In the course of work to ensure interaction between the CIS countries and other foreign states, Ivanov repeatedly made harsh statements. For example, in 2001 he spoke negatively about the possibility of establishing equal economic relations withinCIS.

Defense Minister

In 2001, quite unexpectedly for the general public, Sergei Borisovich was appointed Minister of Defense of Russia. Since this position was usually occupied by regular military personnel, the civilian figure of Ivanov caused a little bewilderment. But it quickly became clear that Sergei Ivanov was a new-format defense minister, a diplomat and a strategist, and these skills proved to be very useful.

Under Ivanov, the Ministry of Defense has significantly changed its line of conduct. Sergey Borisovich made risky remarks more than once. For example, he said that if there is a threat, Russia can strike anywhere. The only limitation is the use of nuclear weapons. According to him, no one is going to widely discuss retaliatory and preventive measures.

Various studies and the media note that under Ivanov, cases of counterintelligence actions in the interests of protecting Russia's defense capability have become more frequent. Thus, the case of the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London, the elimination of Yanadrbiev in Qatar are connected with the activities of organizations subordinate to him. In addition, under Ivanov, the reform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation began, aimed at reducing the number of military personnel, replacing the composition of conscripts with contract soldiers, and reducing the number of military departments at universities. The Minister of Defense has ensured that the queue for housing among military personnel has been reduced by a quarter. Under his leadership, there were many disasters in the army, and issues of hazing began to be discussed more often.

In 2005, Ivanov becamepart-time Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. In 2007, Sergei Ivanov, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, was relieved of his post due to his transfer to the government.

Government work

In 2007, the biography of Sergey Borisovich Ivanov changed. For the first time in his life, he became an absolutely civilian person, not involved in any way in the power structures of the country. V. V. Putin said that the Minister of Defense adequately coped with the tasks set before him and that he would continue to oversee the military-industrial complex, and would also work on other projects. Sergei Borisovich retained his post even during the change of government. In this position, Ivanov was responsible for overseeing the military-industrial complex, transport, and communications. Under the influence of strong intra-governmental intrigues, the intelligent Sergei Borisovich faded into the background, giving way to more active colleagues on TV screens. The media wrote a lot about his confrontation with I. Sechin, from which Ivanov eventually emerged victorious.

Administration of the President of the Russian Federation

In 2011, Medvedev appointed Ivanov head of the Russian presidential administration. Detractors said that this position did not correspond to the ambitions of Sergei Borisovich, but he performed his duties with the same diligence and thoroughness. The new working address of Ivanov Sergei Borisovich in the Kremlin was preserved under President V. V. Putin. Some spiteful critics speak of the decline of Ivanov's political career. However, his loy alty and closeness to Putin may still be a reasonnew rounds of biography.

Awards

Due to his natural modesty, Sergei Ivanov, Minister of Defense (formerly), head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, has a relatively modest list of awards. He is a full cavalier of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, has the Order of Military Merit, Honor, the Red Banner, Alexander Nevsky, and For Personal Courage. Also, his merits were awarded with the diploma of the CIS, the award "Russian of the Year".

Private life

All his life Sergey Borisovich is happily married. He met his wife in his student years, at the same time the wedding took place. Ivanov Sergey Borisovich, whose wife moved after him from Moscow to Leningrad, rarely talks about the family, the couple can rarely be seen together at official events. Irina works for a large Western company, and in the difficult 1990s, it was she who was the main breadwinner in the family. The couple had two children. The sons of Sergei Borisovich Ivanov went along the economic line. The eldest, Alexander, was at one time deputy chairman of Vnesheconombank. The youngest, Sergey, works as a vice president of Sberbank.

With the eldest son there were the biggest experiences in Ivanov's life. In 2005, Alexander Ivanov hit an elderly woman at a pedestrian crossing. During the proceedings, a great sensation was raised. But the misfortunes did not end there. In 2014, Alexander drowned in the waters of the Persian Gulf while on vacation in the UAE.