The governors of Russia’s Rostov and Tambov regions announced their resignations on Monday, kicking off what political analysts refer to as “gubernatorpad,” or President Vladimir Putin’s annual shakeup of regional heads.
“Today, the country’s leadership is setting other tasks for me at the federal level that will need to be carried out,” Tambov region Governor Maksim Egorov said in a video message posted on Telegram.
Putin appointed Egorov as acting governor of the central Tambov region in October 2021, and the following year he was elected to office. Tambov is located around 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Moscow.
Meanwhile, in the southern Rostov region, governor Vasily Golubev said he was stepping down “due to a transfer to another job.”
“I am grateful to President Vladimir Putin and the government of the Russian Federation for their attention to all issues and for specific assistance on initiatives in our region,” he said.
“There are new things and tasks ahead. But wherever I work in the future, my absolute priority will always be the support and development of my beloved Rostov region,” Golubev added without specifying where he would work next.
Vasily Golubev became governor of the Rostov region in 2010, making him one of Russia’s longest-serving governors. Rostov, which is home to the Russian military’s command center for the war in Ukraine, has faced regular drone strikes since the full-scale invasion and was briefly seized by Wagner mercenaries in June 2023 during their failed mutiny.
Later on Monday, Putin appointed Yury Slyusar, CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation, a defense company, as acting governor of the Rostov region. In the Tambov region, the Kremlin leader appointed Ukraine war veteran and former mayor of Krasnodar, Yevgeny Pervyshov, as acting governor.
Those appointments came amid local media reports in the Rostov region that Federal Security Service (FSB) agents questioned Golubev in his office and may have confiscated documents related to major construction projects in the region.
“There was a search [at Golubev’s office], but a quiet one. They [FSB agents] arrived, went in, talked to him, [but] it’s not clear what exactly they were looking for,” an anonymous government source was quoted as saying by local media.
Golubev’s press service denied the report.
