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Omsk Governor Out As Putin Pushes Ahead With Regional Reshuffle

RFE/RL October 09, 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the governor of the Omsk region, Viktor Nazarov, the newest step in a shake-up of regional leaders ahead of a March 2018 presidential election.

In a decree posted on the Kremlin website on October 9, Putin accepted Nazarov's resignation and appointed Aleksandr Burkov -- until now a deputy of the State Duma from the A Just Russia party -- as acting governor of the large Siberian region.

A Just Russia is a rival of the dominant ruling party, United Russia, but generally supports Putin and does the Kremlin's bidding.

Last week, Putin replaced the heads of the North Caucasus region of Daghestan, Primorsky Krai in the Far East, the western Oryol region, and the Siberian region of Novosibirsk.

In late September, the governors of the Russian regions of Nenets, Krasnoyarsk, Nizhny Novgorod, and Samara were replaced.

Several of the new appointees, including Burkov, 50, are younger than the men they are replacing. Nazarov is 54.

The regional shake-up comes six months before the March 18 presidential election, in which Putin is widely expected to seek and secure a fourth term.

The Kremlin has relied on regional governors to secure predetermined levels of support for Putin in past elections that were heavily managed by Moscow.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-omsk-governor- latest-putin-reshuffle/28782750.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.