- Russian Security Council Secretary and former Defence
- Minister Sergey Shoygu’s military contract has reportedly been extended for a further 5 years to run until 2030, when he will turn 75 years old. Shoygu, a close ally of Putin, reportedly missed Russia’s 09 May 2025 Victory Day parade in Moscow for health-related reasons.
- The Russian state increasingly resembles a gerontocracy; a form of rule in which the senior leaders are significantly older than most of the adult population. The majority of Russia’s senior leadership, including Putin (72), are aged in the vicinity of, and exceeding, Russia’s reported 2023 average male life expectancy (approximately 68 years.
- Putin has highly likely sought to keep close personal allies in positions of power to better ensure perceived regime stability, as well as his own survivability. Political appointments derive from patronage and long-term loyalty to Putin, as opposed to being merit-based, likely engendering dissatisfaction and frustration amongst the younger generation of ambitious potential leaders. This also significantly undermines the effectiveness and efficiency of leadership decisions, which are likely made not by the most capable, but by those with the most longstanding acquiescence and commitment to, as well as deriving the most benefit from, Putin’s authoritarianism.