Boris Kovalchuk (son of Putin's friend) will leave the post of head of Inter RAO. Kommersant writes that he may head Gazprom, Rosneft or become governor of St. Petersburg

Boris Kovalchuk, who has headed Inter RAO for the past 15 years, will soon leave the company, Kommersant reports, citing sources in the market. According to them, a few months ago a "fundamental decision" was made that Kovalchuk "is going for a promotion."

Thus, the newspaper's sources claim, the top manager could head Gazprom, Rosneft, become deputy prime minister instead of Alexander Novak, or governor of St. Petersburg. Kommersant's sources do not know which of these options will ultimately be chosen.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Kovalchuk’s place at Inter RAO will be taken by former Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Sergei Dregval, who joined the company in February.

Inter RAO declined to comment on Kommersant's information. Following the newspaper's inquiry, the company reported that on March 14, the board of directors would consider the issue of early termination of the CEO's powers and the election of a new one.

• Boris Kovalchuk is the son of Yuri Kovalchuk, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since June 2009, he has worked at Inter RAO, where he joined as a member of the board of directors. A few months later, Boris Kovalchuk became the head of the company. In 2020, Kovalchuk Jr.testified in favor of former Inter RAO top manager Karina Tsurkan, who was eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of espionage for Moldova. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he was included in the EU sanctions list.