Ivan's role in the final years of Tsar Michael Shishman's reign and the rule of Ivan Stephen is uncertain, as he is not mentioned in the sources pertaining to that period. His high-ranking position nevertheless leads Pavlov to conjecture that Ivan took part in the Battle of Velbazhd of 28 July 1330, a Serbian victory over Bulgaria that paved the way to the Serbian dominance of the Balkans in the mid-14th century. Michael Shishman was killed in the battle and succeeded by his son Ivan Stephen (1330–1331). Pavlov believes that Ivan the Russian was among the Bulgarian nobles that ousted the weak Ivan Stephen in 1331 and placed Ivan Alexander (1331–1371) on the throne. It is also probable that Ivan the Russian took part in the Bulgarian victory over Byzantium at Rusokastro in 1332 because he was last recorded as Ivan Alexander's representative in the peace negotiations that followed.