IGOR IVANOV OUT AT SECURITY COUNCIL; VALENTIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 003542

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR RS
SUBJECT: IGOR IVANOV OUT AT SECURITY COUNCIL; VALENTIN
SOBOLEV A PLACEHOLDER?

REF: MOSCOW 3400 (NOTAL)

Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reasons: 1.4(B/D).


1. (C) On July 18, President Putin accepted Security
Council Secretary Igor Ivanov's resignation, which had been
pending for several weeks (reftel). Ivanov first offered to
resign in February, prompted largely by differences over
Russia's relations with the West and concerns about the role
of succession politics in Russia's foreign policy. The
Kremlin announced that Deputy Valentin Sobolev would serve as
Acting Secretary. Ivanov plans to teach at the Moscow
Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and write books.


2. (SBU) Sobolev is a bureaucratic veteran with a
background in the security organs who has served under Putin
in several guises. Public sources indicate he joined the KGB
in 1972 and climbed his way up to become Deputy Director of
the successor Federal Security Service (FSB) in the
mid-nineties. When Putin was FSB Director, Sobolev served as
his First Deputy Director for about eight months in 1998-99.
During a Yeltsin-inspired shakeup in spring of 1999, he moved
over to the Security Council when Putin was appointed
Council Secretary. While at the Council, he has kept a
relatively low profile, and was the sole survivor of Igor
Ivanov's 2004 housecleaning.


3. (C) Comment: As Acting Secretary, Sobolev will be
responsible for coordinating Russian security policies, but
we do not see him as a policy maker or view him as a
contender for higher office. He strikes us as a loyal
placeholder who enjoys Putin's confidence, but will not be as
visible or active as Igor Ivanov. While speculation is rife,
it is not clear when a permanent replacement will be named as
Secretary or whether that move would be part of a broader

SIPDIS
government reshuffle.
BURNS