Vyacheslav Lebedev, head of Russia’s Supreme Court since December 1991, died in Moscow on Friday, the state-controlled Kommersant newspaper reported on Saturday.

Vyacheslav Lebedev during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the KremlinPhoto: Oleksandr Kazakov / AP / Profimedia

As reported by the Russian mass media with reference to the Kyiv Independent, Lebedev was 80 years old and died after a “long illness”.

“He participated in the work of the Supreme Court literally until the last day,” writes Kommersant with reference to a source.

Vyacheslav Lebedev was included in the Ukrainian sanctions list because of his role in the Russian state leadership.

He recently met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 6 in Moscow to discuss the work of the judicial system.

Lebedev served as the head of the Supreme Court of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) for two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union.