Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree dismissing Smolensk Region Governor Alexei Ostrovsky.
As stated in the document, Ostrovsky was fired voluntarily.
Vasily Anokhin, who previously headed the Russian government’s regional development department, was named acting governor.
Ostrovsky has led the Smolensk region since 2012. He was re-elected to the post in 2020; his term was to last until 2025.
Ostrovsky is a member of the LDPR. Until recently, he was one of the two representatives of this party at the head of the region, together with the governor of the Khabarovsk territory, Mikhail Degtyarev.