Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree dismissing Sergei Vakhrukov from the post of Governor of the Yaroslavl Region . His powers were terminated ahead of schedule, reports . the press service of the head of state

Sergei Yastrebov, the first vice-mayor of Yaroslavl for urban planning and socio-economic development, has been appointed acting head of the region.

The text of the decree specifies that Vakhrukov resigned of his own free will.

The sacked governor had led the region since December 2007. At the last elections to the State Duma, he headed the regional electoral list of United Russia. As a result, the party received only 29 percent of the vote, which is 20 percent less than the national figure.

Yastrebov, appointed acting governor, was the winner in the United Russia primaries when selecting candidates for the post of new mayor of Yaroslavl. However, Vakhrukov decided to nominate Yakov Yakushev for this position. In the second round of elections, he received just under 28 percent of the vote, while almost 70 percent of voters voted for the non-partisan Yevgeny Urlashov.

As the Interfax agency notes , Medvedev called the actions of the party leadership in the situation with the elections of the mayor of Yaroslavl unacceptable.

Medvedev fired the governor of the Yaroslavl region