Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree appointing Vyacheslav Gladkov, the former governor of the Belgorod region, as Russia’s ambassador to the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia.
The State Duma committee on CIS affairs approved Gladkov’s candidacy for the post on June 23.
Vyacheslav Gladkov served as governor of Russia’s Belgorod region from 2021. Rumors of his resignation surfaced in April 2026. On May 13, it was announced that Gladkov had submitted his resignation.
Sources at Meduza close to the presidential administration said that the question of Gladkov moving to work in Moscow — either in the government or the State Duma — had been under consideration for several years. Meduza’s sources described his appointment as ambassador to Abkhazia as “logical.” They noted that Gladkov enjoys the support of the inner circle of Sergey Kiriyenko, the head of the Kremlin’s political bloc, whose area of responsibility includes Abkhazia.
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