Vyacheslav Gladkov has resigned as governor of the Belgorod region for personal reasons, the Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing the Kremlin’s press service.
Alexander Shuvaev, a general and deputy governor of the Irkutsk region, has been named acting head of the region. The Russian business daily Vedomosti and the Russian business news outlet RBC had previously named him as the leading candidate to replace Gladkov.
Alexander Bogomaz, who had led the Bryansk region since 2015, also resigned, also citing personal reasons. Yegor Kovalchuk, a former prime minister of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, has been appointed acting governor.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, 57, had served as governor of the Belgorod region since 2021. Rumors that he might step down ahead of elections scheduled for September 2026 began circulating in early April.
Sources at the Russian business daily Vedomosti linked Gladkov’s resignation in part to his health and to what they described as an unfavorable climate for government support in the Belgorod region.
According to various reports (1, 2), Gladkov may be offered a post as deputy minister at the Economic Development Ministry or appointed Russia’s ambassador to the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia. He had been on leave for about a month before his resignation.
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