Try GOLD - Free

Who's who: The aides and power brokers to face off in Alaska

The Guardian

|

August 16, 2025

As Vladimir Putin landed in Alaska yesterday for his high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump, he was flanked by some of the most powerful figures in the Kremlin's inner circle – a team of seasoned political operators, financial strategists, and diplomatic enforcers who have helped shape Russia's foreign and economic policy for more than two decades, including old guard loyalists and younger financial power brokers.

- Pjotr Sauer

Trump was also accompanied by a cadre of his most trusted advisers, among them a property mogul, a former hedge fund billionaire, and the country's top diplomat.

Despite earlier media reports, Trump's vice-president, JD Vance, and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, were not listed in the official delegation.

Russian delegation Sergei Lavrov Foreign minister The 75-year-old has been in post since 2004, making him one of the longest-tenured senior diplomats in the world. Known for his gravel-voiced delivery and combative press conferences, Lavrov has been central to crafting and defending Moscow's foreign policy from the Iraq war to the annexation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A career diplomat who joined the Soviet foreign service in 1972, he spent a decade as Russia's ambassador to the UN.

Yuri Ushakov Foreign policy adviser Ushakov, 78, is a veteran presidential aide and one of Putin's most trusted foreign policy advisers.

A career diplomat with a long focus on Washington, he served as Russia's ambassador to the US from 1998 to 2008.

Known for his calm demeanor and deep institutional memory, Ushakov has served as a behind-the-scenes strategist, frequently supplying the president's talking points to state media.

MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian

Albanese rules out link between gunmen and wider terrorist cell

Investigators in Australia have dismissed suggestions that two gunmen who opened fire on a crowd celebrating a Jewish festival in Sydney on Sunday, killing 15 people and injuring dozens, were part of a wider terror network.

time to read

4 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

'Show a bit of dog' Stokes makes rallying call as England strive to save Ashes

Ben Stokes has called on his England players to summon up the rage witnessed against India in the summer and show some \"dog\" as they look to keep their slim Ashes hopes alive.

time to read

2 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Doctors to strike after rejecting last-ditch offer

Hospitals are cancelling tens of thousands of appointments and operations after resident doctors voted overwhelmingly to reject a last-ditch offer to avoid this week's strike.

time to read

3 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Fright and delight from eye-popping illusions

Paranormal Activity

time to read

1 min

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Kendal is formidable in a fitting first epitaph to Stoppard

A fortnight after West End playhouses dimmed their lights in tribute to Sir Tom Stoppard, Hampstead theatre's stage lights rise on a revival of his 1995 play Indian Ink, originally intended to mark 30 years since the play's premiere.

time to read

2 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Jimmy Lai The rise and fall of Hong Kong's chief 'troublemaker'

Yesterday’s verdict convicting Jimmy Lai of national security offences was expected.

time to read

6 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

'A matter of conscience' Heroic bystander's family on why he risked his life

When Ahmed al-Ahmed tackled and wrested a gun from an alleged shooter at Bondi beach, he was simply thinking that he \"couldn't bear to see people dying\", his cousin says.

time to read

3 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

Prem Rugby to seek investors if RFU backs franchise plan

Prem Rugby is planning to launch a tender process to secure external investment in the competition after it has received formal approval from the Rugby Football Union to become a closed franchise league, which it expects will happen next year.

time to read

2 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Tears, flowers and silence: Sydney unites in grief after Bondi horror

Defiant dawn gathering at site by beach where gunmen had opened fire

time to read

3 mins

December 16, 2025

The Guardian

Maresca’s silence only amplifies the Chelsea noise

If Enzo Maresca was interested in ending speculation that he has a problem with elements of Chelsea’s hierarchy then he would have done so yesterday.

time to read

3 mins

December 16, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size