World Vladimir Putin sacks his long-term KGB ally as chief-of-staff

Source: Newsweek:

August 12, 2016 at 11:10

Putin told Ivanov’s successor that he will be tasked chiefly with rooting out “empty bureaucracy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired the head of his administration in a surprise move, the Kremlin’s press service announced Friday. Sergey Ivanov is one of Putin’s closest associates in government, having served as Putin’s deputy in Russia’s federal security services (FSB) when Putin was appointed head of the agency in 1999. He was then minister of defense during Putin’s first term as president, served as deputy prime minister and was then appointed to head the Kremlin administration in 2011, in time for Putin’s third term in 2012. Ivanov’s deputy, Anton Vayno, will take his position for the time being, while Ivanov will be moved on to special presidential envoy on transport and ecology. ...
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