The “Master of the East” and His Executioners, or The Peculiarities of Clan Warfare in Putin’s Foreign Ministry
In July 2025, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's deputy foreign minister for the Middle East and Africa, was abruptly dismissed. Shortly before, his closest aide had been sent to Lefortovo on charges of high treason. Now Bogdanov himself is reportedly a suspect, and his old department is being handed to outsiders.