Economics
Putin’s Pre-Election Shuffle Tightens Security Grip on Regions
- President replaces governors, envoys in eight regions
- Security officials handed key roles in regional appointments
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President Vladimir Putin placed security officials in key positions as he carried out the largest shuffle of regional governors and envoys this year, less than two months before Russians vote in parliamentary elections amid the longest economic recession in nearly 20 years.
Putin on Thursday replaced presidential envoys overseeing the annexed peninsula of Crimea and the North-Western, Siberian and North Caucasus federal districts, as well as the governors of Kaliningrad, Yaroslavl and Kirov regions. He stripped Crimea of its federal district status, merging it into Russia’s Southern federal district along with Sevastopol, whose top official was also changed.