The board of directors of the Energia rocket and space corporation has suspended the powers of the company's president and chief designer Nikolai Sevastyanov, RIA Novosti reports citing the RSC press service. The Russian government intends to initiate the issue of his removal from office.

As Nikolai Moiseev, chairman of the company's board of directors, told RIA Novosti, the responsibilities of the head of the company are assigned to Energia vice-president Alexander Strekalov. Moiseev also said that Sevastyanov’s resignation will not affect the Russian space launch program.

At the same time, the board of the corporation expressed confidence in its leader, stating that the decision to suspend his powers does not comply with the law and is contrary to the RKK charter. According to representatives of the board, the decision of the board of directors could damage the company's image, limit its ability to operate in the space services market and, thus, entail losses.

The Energia board intends to appeal to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov with a request to create an open interdepartmental commission to consider the reasons and legality of the termination of Sevastyanov’s powers.

Rumors about Sevastyanov's imminent resignation appeared the day before, when he suddenly left the Le Bourget air show. The reason for the decision is said to be disagreements between the President of the RKK and Roscosmos, in particular on the issue of the Russian lunar program. was published on the Roscosmos website A note criticizing Sevastyanov’s statements regarding flights to the Moon.

The final decision on the fate of Nikolai Sevastyanov should be made by the general meeting of shareholders, which will be held on July 14. Vedomosti reports that Yuri Koptev, the former head of Roscosmos and the current head of the department of the military-industrial complex of the Ministry of Industry and Energy, is named as a likely candidate for Sevastyanov’s post.

RSC Energia has replaced its president