Igor Pavlovich Burov is the husband of Yelena Burova and father of Oleg Burov and his late brother Yevgeny. He is a high-ranking Communist official and serves as the Minister of Transport. Igor was close to General Secretary Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov.
Unlike his wife, Igor does not have a close relationship with Oleg, favoring his son Yevgeny instead. When Yevgeny is killed in action in Afghanistan, Igor unsuccessfully pressures Arkady to force Oleg's return to Russia prematurely.
Oleg and Igor grow a little closer when Oleg voluntarily returns home to comfort his mother in Season Five. Igor ultimately shares some of his perspective on painful family events, including that he remained faithful to Yelena when she was imprisoned for several years prior to Oleg and Yevgeny's births.
Igor assists Oleg when he returns to the US in Season Six, ostensibly to take classes in urban transport, but in reality to make contact with Philip regarding a KGB plot to discredit and overthrow Gorbachev. Oleg calls Igor periodically with coded messages, which he then relays to Arkady.
When Oleg is arrested picking up a dead drop and imprisoned by the FBI, it falls to Igor to deliver the bad news to Oleg's wife.