Everything goes according to plan

The work of Vladimir Putin on “regional problems”, announced on Monday, brought the first results. Yesterday it became known about the resignation of the heads of two regions, which were prophesied by dismissal. Following the governors of the Murmansk and Chelyabinsk region, other leaders can leave their posts, risking not to be re -elected during the September elections.

Recall that the “Vedomosti” reported about possible rearrangements at the beginning of the week. Based on the information of sources close to the Kremlin, the publication predicted to six dismissals that would occur in the near future. Among the main candidates for elimination, the heads of the Murmansk, Orenburg and Chelyabinsk regions, as well as the Altai Republic, were called. Yesterday, these forecasts began to come true.

According to RBC, the head of the Murmansk region, Marina Kovtun on Monday, filed a resignation and is waiting for the Kremlin’s response on this subject. “At the moment, I am on an airplane and fly to Murmansk from a business trip. I will not comment on everything else. See what will happen in our regional media, ”Kovtun told the publication. She clarified that on Tuesday "there will be no news."

Marina Kovtun / Instagram.com / kovtunmurman

Kovtun has been the post of head of the region since 2012. Her powers expire in 2019, but before that she had repeatedly predicted their early addition. Rumors intensified after a series of criminal cases initiated against officials from her environment in 2017, and the head of the region complained about “serious pressure” by law enforcement agencies. ” “I cannot regard these actions otherwise than a political order and injury in order to discredit the current government and force me to leave the post of head of the region,” the governor said in October 2017, commenting on the arrest of former vice-governor Igor Babenko, who controlled the work of the apparatus of the regional government.

Igor Babenko / Bloger51.com

In February, Babenko testified to Kovtun in court. According to him, the head of the region personally gave him and other government employees instructions to collect money from business and spend funds on banquets and gifts to federal officials, as well as on the purchase of fishing equipment and alcohol and for the personal needs of the governor. A completely spoiled relationship with local business elites also does not increase her chances of autumn re-election. Who will take her place is still unknown.

Yesterday it became known that the governor of the Chelyabinsk region Boris Dubrovsky also asked President Vladimir Putin to resign him. Dubrovskyemphasized that this was his personal decision and handed over the words of gratitude to the residents of the region for support. He held a post since 2014.

Boris Dubrovsky / mineconom74.ru

The president satisfied the request and appointed the duties of the head of the region of the First Deputy Minister of Energy Alexei Texler. Whoever replaces it in the ministry is still unknown. But the new acting At a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, he already called the main tasks that he intends to solve at his post. “As for the main tasks, of course, national projects, including ecology, will be in the focus of attention,” he said , adding that he would deal with issues of socio-economic development, agriculture and road construction. He also called a priority question a priority.

Alexey Tevesler at the oil and gas forum 2018 /energybase.ru / photo: Donat Sorokin

The resignation of regional leaders is unlikely to end there. According to the forecasts of the speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Zvezdopad will end only by mid -April. “There is a normal, planned process of replacing the governor’s corps for various reasons: about two terms, the governor worked, somewhere he is transferred to another job, this is a normal personnel update ... I think that there will still be resignations this year, it seems to me so, but not sensational,” Matvienko explained to reporters.

Recall that for the first time a new wave of dismissal was predicted in the fall. In 2018, the change of governors occurred in 20 Russian regions, while the most rotations were in September and October (12 regions). In total, during the year, 14 chapters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation left posts of their own free will, one - the head of Khakassia - in connection with the expiration of the term of office. Three more governors were appointed members of the new composition of the Government of the Russian Federation, two lost their posts, losing the elections. There were several waves of rotations of governors in 2017.

Direct elections of governors will be held in September at least 16 regions, in most of them the political situation today can hardly be called stable.