Media: Four governors in Russia may lose their positions by the end of the week
This week, in several Russia’s regions, a reshuffle of local governors may take place. According to newspaperKommersant, one of the vacated seats may be given to the head of state-run aerospace concern Oboronprom.
Kommersant’s reports citing its sources that this week's resignations are expected in the Ivanovo, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Murmansk, Novosibirsk, and Omsk regions, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), and the Krasnoyarsk and Altai Krais. However, the interlocutors of the newspaper indicated that according to established practice there may be regions where nothing is going to change. In particular, the Vladimir region was supposed to be mentioned in the original list, but as a result, the Governor, Svetlana Orlova, was given the opportunity to continue her work after a meeting with the President.
According to the newspaper, one of the vacated seats may be given to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of aerospace concern Oboronprom, Sergei Sokol. At the same time, it is still unclear exactly where the official will be sent. Among the possible seats are the Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Omsk Region according to the paper’s sources. However, in both regions the rumors that their leaders are going to leave their posts are being denied.
As for the Samara region, where the resignation of Governor Nikolai Merkushkin is allegedly possible, several candidates are being considered, the Director General of the Roskosmos State Corporation, Igor Komarov, the State Duma Deputy from the Samara Region, Vladimir Gutenev, and Senator Dmitry Azarov.
Political scientist Ekaterina Kurbangaleeva, did not rule out that current officials from federal ministries and departments will head the newly vacated posts.
Last week, the intention of the Governor of the Samara region to resign was reported by RBC news agency. According to the interlocutor of the agency, in the past week, Merkushkin flew to a meeting with the Presidential Administration, where his fate was decided. At the same time, the press service of the Governor did not confirm the information about Merkushkin’s unscheduled trip to the capital.
Another potential candidate to resign, according to RBC sources, is the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Valery Shantsev. The latter had conflicts with regional elites. In addition, Shantsev appeared to be in the list of Governors to be rotated due to his age, this summer he turned 70 years old.