Five Russian governors announced their resignation in one day on Tuesday. All of them would have seen their mandates expire later this year ahead of the regional elections scheduled for September 11, Russia’s national voting day in 2022.
Two of the governors – Sergey Zhvachkin of the Siberian Tomsk Oblast and Valery Radaev of the Saratov Oblast in the Volga Federal District – had served for two consecutive terms and had occupied their posts for a decade since 2012. Although Russia passed a law allowing governors to serve for more than two terms in a row in 2021, both have said they would not run for another term at the upcoming elections.
The head of the Kirov Oblast – another region in the Volga Federal District – Igor Vasilyev, who had occupied his position since 2016, has said he had asked President Vladimir Putin to relieve him of his duties since he plans to work at “the federal level.” The governor previously worked with the Russian State Register – a federal agency that deals with everything related to land and real estate.