“A cult of personality is a vice capable of destroying a country.” Which of Russia’s prominent citizens, would you guess, owns this quotation?
No, it was not uttered by some fugitive pseudo-oppositionist of the Kasparov or Khodorkovsky type. Nor by a managed oppositionist like Zyuganov or Slutsky. These words belong to a man brought as close to President Vladimir Putin as it is possible to be. A man to whom Putin gave a prominent place in world politics. And, finally, a man who has deeply disappointed him. His name is Sergei Lavrov.
The faculty of international relations at MGIMO, a posting in Sri Lanka and, at last, Russia’s mission to the United Nations — back in the now-distant year 2004 it seemed that this was the crown of Lavrov’s career as a diplomat. But he proved convenient to the Kremlin in a weightier role — as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lavrov’s advantages were beyond dispute — an experienced negotiator who knew the West and its back rooms well. But the main thing was that he had no political ambitions. And he was also very quick on the uptake. Lavrov swiftly grasped that on the world stage he had to be like Putin — charismatic, witty and just as hard.
The strategy worked reliably. Lavrov delivered to the world what Putin wanted said, and in the very same manner. And so American presidents changed, European governments changed, alliances changed, the very rules of conversation between states changed. Lavrov did not change… and that is what undid him.
A difficult geopolitical situation demands flexibility and unconventional moves. Especially when you are dealing with the current occupants of the White House — young, brazen, and even more unprincipled than you are.
Men like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On October 21, 2025, Lavrov held a telephone conversation with him to discuss the terms of the coming Putin–Trump summit in Budapest. Yet, unexpectedly for many, Rubio recommended that his boss cancel the meeting. And after that came U.S. sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil — the first since Trump’s return to the White House.
One need not be a genius of geopolitics to reach the conclusion: Lavrov failed the negotiations. Very important negotiations — on keeping the United States within Russia’s orbit of influence, something Putin had personally worked on for years. And rather successfully, as the Alaska summit showed.
After a fiasco like that, Lavrov’s career as Russia’s representative on the international stage is, in essence, over. It is obvious that he can no longer negotiate on the terms the Kremlin needs.
The West, too, has seen Lavrov’s professional unfitness. Western media now openly call him the “anti-diplomat,” recalling everything — the rudeness, the public humiliations, the psychological games. Yes, those techniques worked once. But not now.
Which means the West will no longer talk to Lavrov. And Lavrov, for his part, will simply no longer be able to. Because new times are at the door, with new alliances into which he does not fit and will not fit. Not even under orders. His time has gone.
Instinctively Lavrov understands this, but there is nothing he can do. And so he is consumed by anger. Not at himself — but, unexpectedly, at Putin, who gave him everything.
After his failure with Rubio, Lavrov gave an interview to the Russian television host Vyacheslav Manucharov. Asked which human vice most often destroys a country, the minister replied:
“However banal it may sound, it is the cult of personality. It can also be a vice, when a man thinks first of all about lining his pockets while maintaining that celestial image of his, about holding on to power, handing out ‘cushy little posts’ to those close to him, running underground, illegitimate business projects.”
Lavrov did not name Putin. But the name read between the lines. And that kind of insolence the president of Russia forgives no one. If before this Lavrov would simply have been sent into retirement, after such words one can only guess what awaits the head of the Foreign Ministry next: a heart attack, a road accident, or simply an absurd mishap at a picnic ending in death. In any case, that is not for Lavrov to decide.