Russian President Vladimir Putin often comes across as a solitary figure taking decisions by himself, but that’s far from true. Putin is surrounded by a deeply loyal entourage, an inner circle that is largely made up of security and military advisors.

As the commander-in-chief of the Russian military, Putin is ultimately responsible for decisions like the invasion of Ukraine. However, the siloviki or ‘men of power,’ many of whom rose through the ranks of Russia’s security services, are still advising him on the offensive. Here’s a look at Putin’s inner circle or closest associates.

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Sergei Shoigu

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is a long-time confidant who has gone on hunting and fishing trips to Siberia with the Russian President. Shoigu, who had been viewed as Putin’s potential successor in the past, is credited for supervising the invasion of Crimea in 2014. He is also in charge of the GRU military intelligence agency.

"Shoigu is not only in charge of the military, he's also partly in charge of ideology -- and in Russia ideology is mostly about history and he's in control of the narrative," Russian security expert and writer Andrei Soldatov told BBC.

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Valery Gerasimov

Gerasimov has been the chief of staff of the Russian armed forces since 2012 after former defence minister Anatoliy Serdyukov was dismissed. He played a major role in Putin’s military campaigns and was spotted overseeing military drills in Belarus last month as well. However, some believe Gerasimov may have lost favour of the Russian President following the stuttering start to the Ukraine invasion, BBC reported.

Nikolai Patrushev

Nikolai Patrushev is the head of Russia's Security Council. He had served in the KGB and has also been the head of its successor organisation, the Federal Security Service (FSB), from 1999 to 2008. Patrushev is one of the three loyalists who have been with Putin since 1970s in St Petersburg. The two other loyalists are security service chief Alexander Bortnikov and foreign intelligence head Sergei Naryshkin.

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"Patrushev is the most hawkish hawk, thinking the West has been out to get Russia for years," Ben Noble, associate professor of Russian Politics at University College London, told BBC.

Alexander Bortnikov

Bortnikov succeeded Nikolai Patrushev as the Director of Federal Security Service (FSB). It is believed that Bortnikov is responsible for the high number of detentions and restrictions imposed on civil society in the past year, Sky News reported.

Sergei Naryshkin

Naryshkin has served as the Director of Foreign Intelligence Service since 2016. Although Naryshkin has been loyal for much of Putin’s career, a recent video showed Putin snapping at Naryshkin, asking him to "speak directly" on whether he supported the decision to recognise two Kremlin-backed separatist regions in Ukraine as independent states.

"Putin loves playing games with his inner circle, making him

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Sergei Lavrov

The 71-year-old has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs for 18 years and is Russia’s most senior diplomat, who has presented Moscow’s views to the world. However, he has been sidelined during the invasion of Ukraine. Recently, Lavrov tried to defend Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the UN Human Rights Council, while most of the members walked out.

Yuri Kovalchuk

Kovalchuk first met Putin when he was the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s. Often referred to as “Putin’s banker,” Kovalchuk has recently been slapped with sanctions by the EU, US, Canada and Switzerland. However, this is not the first time Kovalchuk is faced with sanctions. The US Treasury Department and the European Union had imposed restrictions on him after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

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Vladimir Medinsky

Vladimir Medinsky, former culture minister of Russia and Putin’s presidential aide, is acting as the primary negotiator in the ongoing Ukrainian war. In 2017, Medinsky was accused of plagiarism and the Academic Council had said they would revoke his doctorate. However, he was cleared of charges by a government agency.

Anton Vaino

Putin’s chief-of-staff is said to play an active role in decision making in the ongoing conflict. He is among the various individuals who have been sanctioned by the European Union.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)