Oleg Erovinkin
Oleg Alexandrovich Erovinkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 |
| Died | 2016-12-26 |
| Occupation(s) | Intelligence officer, Chief of staff at Rosneft |
| Years active | 1976–2016 |
| Known for | Senior KGB and FSB general; chief of staff at Rosneft; aide to Igor Sechin |
Oleg Alexandrovich Erovinkin (; 1955 – 26 December 2016) was a Russian intelligence officer who held the rank of general within both the KGB and the FSB. He also occupied the position of chief of staff at the state-controlled oil corporation Rosneft.
Early life and education
Erovinkin, born in 1955, commenced his career with the KGB in 1976. He completed his studies at the Dzerzhynsky Higher School of the KGB in 1980.
Career
In 1994, during President Boris Yeltsin's administration, Erovinkin was appointed deputy head responsible for personnel involved in safeguarding state secrets. Later, in May 2008, under the direction of Vladimir Putin, he assumed the role of chief of staff at Rosneft. Serving as a principal aide to Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, he functioned as an intermediary between Sechin and Putin. Within Rosneft, Erovinkin oversaw sensitive documents and managed Sechin’s declarations of assets. In 2012, he briefly led Sechin’s office within the company.
Death and investigation
On 26 December 2016, at age 61, Erovinkin was discovered deceased inside his vehicle in Moscow. Although no formal cause of death was released, local press suggested possible foul play. The morgue did not specify a reason for his passing, while Rosneft, his employer at the time, attributed it to a heart attack. The incident was subject to investigation by FSB authorities.
Media speculation arose due to Erovinkin’s physical similarity to "Source B" described in the Steele dossier as "a former top level intelligence officer still active in the Kremlin" and "Sechin's treasurer." This led to conjecture that Erovinkin might have been an anonymous informant for the Steele dossier—a compilation by ex-MI6 operative Christopher Steele outlining alleged ties between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives. The dossier references a "close associate" of Rosneft president Sechin as a source, prompting assumptions that this referred to Erovinkin.
Christopher Steele denied that Erovinkin was one of his sources, stating he was "not one of ours." Glenn Simpson also asserted no knowledge of any sources who suffered physical harm. Erovinkin acted as a vital link between Sechin and Putin and served as chief of staff at Rosneft—the company implicated in dossier claims involving Carter Page and potential sanctions relief during Trump's presidency. He was regarded as "Sechin's closest associate" and attracted Putin’s attention amid concerns about information leaks.
Risk Management Lab journalist Christo Grozev characterized Erovinkin’s death as "mysterious," proposing that he may have contributed to assembling the dossier and that his demise could be related to a governmental cover-up by Russia. Nevertheless, analysts such as Mark Galeotti expressed doubt over these theories, emphasizing that individuals like Erovinkin seldom die under suspicious conditions.