Putin Revamps Leadership in Sverdlovsk and Orenburg Ahead of Upcoming Elections

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced new acting governors for the Sverdlovsk and Orenburg regions in anticipation of gubernatorial elections scheduled for later this year.

According to a decree from the Kremlin, Denis Pasler, the outgoing governor of Orenburg, will take over from Yury Kuivashev as the governor of Sverdlovsk. During a televised conference, Putin expressed his desire for Pasler to return to his home region, where he has prior experience.

Yevgeny Solntsev, who was previously the prime minister of the pro-Moscow administration in the occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, will step in as the acting governor of Orenburg, succeeding Pasler. Solntsev has also held the position of deputy minister of construction in Russia.

Both Pasler and Solntsev have requested “a couple of months” to get ready for their new appointments, as indicated in the summaries of their meetings with Putin.

Orenburg and Sverdlovsk are among 20 Russian regions, along with the annexed city of Sevastopol in Crimea, that will conduct direct or indirect gubernatorial elections this September.

While Putin has yet to confirm whether Kuivashev will be reassigned, the business newspaper Vedomosti reported last month that he may be slated for a position within the federal government later this year.

Political analysts interpret Pasler’s appointment as a sort of “promotion,” even amidst contentious issues over his handling of last year’s severe floods in Orenburg and his son’s hockey endeavors in the United States.