One governor has resigned and another has been sacked in a shakeup of regional leaders in Russia.
Sergei Levchenko, the governor of the Siberian region of Irkutsk, submitted his resignation on December 12 and President Vladimir Putin accepted it, the Kremlin said.
No reason was given for the decision. However, Levchenko had been criticized for the regional government’s handling of massive flooding in June and July that left at least 23 dead.
The flooding affected 107 towns and villages in the region, inundating more than 10,000 homes and displacing about 33,000 people.
Meanwhile, Putin signed a decree on December 12 dismissing Aleksandr Levintal as governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia's Far East and appointing Rostislav Goldshtein in his place as acting governor.
In making the announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave no reason for the dismissal.
Two Governors Out In Russian Regional Shakeup
Irkutsk Governor Sergei Levchenko submitted his resignation.