In the near future, President Vladimir Putin is going to dismiss between eight and eleven regional heads, as reported by RIA Novosti news agency, citing a source in the Presidential administration.

It is anticipated that the replacements will be completed by October 10.

"This will be completed by October 10th. As a result, 8 to 11 governors will be replaced by newly proposed candidates, including those already announced. The number of discharges depends entirely on the President’s decision," the interlocutor of the agency noted.

A wave of resignations in the governor's corps began on September 25th. The head of Samara Oblast, Nikolay Merkushkin, was the first to leave. He was followed by the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Valery Shantsev. Resignation letters were also submitted by the Governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Viktor Tolokonsky, and the Head of the Republic of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, announced his resignation as well. Igor Koshin, Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, also lost his post.

Earlier, political analysts noted that the heads of the Vladimir, Ivanovo, Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Murmansk regions and those of Altai Krai, Primorsky Krai, Kalmykia, North Ossetia, Altai, and the governor of St. Petersburg, were all under the threat of dismissal. According to experts, of the 66 Russian regions, 15 of the region’s governors are likely to be dismissed. The reports mention Samara and Nizhny Novgorod regions, together with Nenets Autonomous Okrug, whose governors have already been officially dismissed, as well as Krasnoyarsk Krai and Dagestan (the leaders of these regions announced their retirement).

It was noted that St. Petersburg is also among the territories where the risk of gubernatorial resignation is high. "Even the existence of long-lasting relations and a steady personal contact with Vladimir Putin does not become a life-long indulgence," the news agency notes.

  Vladimir Putin, Russia

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