Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruthlessly pursued his country's bloody invasion of Ukraine that triggered Europe's biggest security crisis since World War II.
Recent media appearances have shown him sitting isolated from senior Kremlin ministers and advisers.
Mr Putin has known many since his days with the former KGB spy agency during the Cold War.
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He also has the support of many Russian super-rich oligarchs in the business sector.
While drawn from various backgrounds, they all bring one common quality: intense loyalty to the Russian president.
Here are some of Putin's inner circle.
Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister
The 71-year-old experienced diplomat has been among Mr Putin's closest aides for years and has served as foreign minister for the past 18 years.
He doesn't mince words when defending what he sees as Moscow's interests, and that style must appeal to the tough-talking Russian president.
Like his boss, Mr Lavrov has tapped into broad public nostalgia for the country's Soviet-era clout.
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Sergei Shoigu, Defence Minister
A long-time Putin associate, Sergei Shoigu has been Defence Minister for 10 years.
He oversaw the takeover of Crimea by Russian-backed forces and was also in charge of the military intelligence agency accused by Western governments of carrying out the deadly 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury in the UK.
Mr Shoigu is on close terms with Mr Putin.
They have been on publicised hunting and shooting expeditions to Siberia together.
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Vyacheslav Volodin, Duma Speaker
Vyacheslav Volodin is the speaker of the State Duma, Russia's parliament.
Before he took up the role in 2016, he had spent five years running the Kremlin's domestic policy.
Following the 2011 protests against Putin, Mr Volodin worked on consolidating the power of the ruling party and on softening Putin's image, according to the US-based Carnegie Moscow Centre.
He has been sanctioned by the US government.
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Sergey Chemezov, businessman
According to an interview Sergey Chemezov gave to a Russian newspaper, he and Mr Putin have known each other for more than 30 years.
The pair both served as KGB agents in East Germany, when their families lived in the same building, and they became "friendly neighbours."
Mr Chemezov has worked in the Russian President's administration and has held a series of top posts at state-owned companies.
Yury Kovalchuk, personal banker
Yury Kovalchuk is Mr Putin's personal banker, according to the US Treasury, which says he is known as one of the Russian President's "cashiers".
Like Mr Putin and the Shamalovs, Mr Kovalchuk is also a founding member of the elite Ozero dacha cooperative near St Petersburg.
In 2013, it was reported that he had hosted the wedding of Mr Putin's daughter, Katerina, to Kirill Shamalov at his ski resort near Ozero.
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While many of Mr Putin's inner circle have been hit with major international sanctions, there is little chance of them turning against the Russian president or moderating his stance on the Ukraine war, one expert says.
"There is no such thing as a moderate member of the Kremlin hierarchy," Matthew Sussex, a senior fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies at the Australian Defence College in Canberra.
– Reported with AP, CNN
