May 15, 2024 09:40 GMT
Four Gubernatorial By-Elections Added To September Regional Polls Amid Wider Admin Rejig
RUSSIA
Local media outlets report that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed off on decrees to appoint five acting regional governors as part of an overhaul of the administration in the wake of the presidential election and his swearing-in ceremony.
- The focus in the recent days has been on the reshuffle of top security officials, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu moved to the position of National Security Council Secretary and replaced by economist Andrey Belousov. Changes to the security cluster have been interpreted as an attempt to increase the effectiveness of Russia's war economy, cement a long-term commitment to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and implement Putin's resource-based war strategy.
- Apart from these changes, Putin promoted four regional governors to Cabinet positions, the most during his time in office, and tapped another one to become his special adviser ("assistant"). This does not represent any real empowerment of the Russian regions - independent media outlet Vyorstka reported that all the promoted officials had close personal links to Putin or his inner circle and enjoyed the Kremlin's trust.
- In the Russian political system, regional governors are elected for five-year terms in staggered elections, which take place each year in September for a certain number of regions. The Central Election Commission (CEC) confirmed that gubernatorial by-elections will be held in four regions during the "single voting day" on September 8 this year, following the departure of the four respective governors, alongside regular elections in Kursk and 15 other regions.
- The table below summarises changes in gubernatorial seats, as per RBC and Kommersant reports. The names of acting governors are not a surprise, with four of them leaked to Vedomosti ahead of time.
New Governor (Previous Role) | Former Governor (New Role) | Region |
---|---|---|
Ilya Seredyuk (Kemerovo Mayor) | Sergey Tsivilyov (Minister of Energy) | Kemerovo Oblast |
Alexey Smirnov (First Deputy Governor of Kursk Oblast) | Roman Starovoyt (Minister of Transport) | Kursk Oblast |
Alexey Besprozvannykh (Russian Deputy Minister of Industry) | Anton Alikhanov (Minister of Industry and Trade) | Kaliningrad Oblast |
Dmitry Milyaev (First Deputy Governor of Tula Oblast) | Mikhail Degtyarev (Minister of Sport) | Tula Oblast |
Dmitry Demeshin (Russian Deputy Prosecutor General) | Aleksey Dyumin (Assistant to the President of Russia) | Khabarovsk Krai |
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