Mikhail Lesin, the head of state-controlled Russian broadcasting giant Gazprom-Media, has announced his resignation from the post.
Lesin, a former adviser to President Vladimir Putin and the creator of the RT television news network, said he was stepping down for family reasons.
Gazprom-Media says Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president of the Sochi Olympic organizing committee, has been nominated as Lesin's possible replacement.
Lesin's resignation comes as U.S. authorities are considering whether to investigate Lesin for money laundering in connection with a California real-estate deal.
Gazprom-Media is Russia's largest media company, with holdings including NTV, Itogi magazine, and a controlling stake in Ekho Moskvy radio, one of Russia's few remaining platforms for criticism of the Kremlin.
Ekho Moskvy editor Aleksei Venediktov, who recently sparred with Lesin over Lesin's failed attempt to fire one of the radio station's journalists, described the surprise resignation as "ill-timed."
