President Dmitry Medvedev has replaced Ingushetia’s acting interior minister with a police veteran from the Saratov region, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Viktor Pogolov, who has served as deputy head of the Saratov region’s police force since June 2007, will take over from acting Ingush Interior Minister Viktor Zhirnov, the Kremlin said.

Zhirnov has served as acting interior minister since Medvedev fired Minister Ruslan Meiriyev following a bombing outside the Ingush Interior Ministry’s headquarters in August that killed 25 people. Pogolov, 51, has served as a police officer for more than 30 years, according to the Saratov regional police’s web site.

(MT)