Kostroma region governor Igor Slyunyayev's resignation has been accepted by President Dmitry Medvedev, marking the latest departure in a recent shake-up that has seen several governors leave their posts.
In a message posted on the region's official site Friday, Slyunyayev did not address the reason for submitting his resignation from the post he has held for nearly five years. He instead thanked residents and President Dmitry Medvedev for his time as governor.
"I am grateful for those years that I have been gifted to work together with you as the governor of the Kostroma region," he wrote. "Victories and failures were shared, but I'm sure that there will be still more victories, and people's lives have become better through our combined efforts. Thank you for your work, for your talent, and for the joy of fellowship!" the message said.
Many experts think Slyunyayev was fired because his party, United Russia, fared poorly in the December election to the State Duma. United Russia earned just over 32 percent of votes in the Kostroma region, much lower than in the rest of the country.
Slyunyayev is the eighth governor to leave his post since the December election.
Sergei Sitnikov, former head of the Federal Mass Media Inspection Service and native to the Kostroma region, has been appointed acting governor.
The 45-year-old Slyunyayev was born in the Omsk region in Siberia and graduated from a Moscow police training school with a degree in law. He continued to study in the Russian Academy of State Service of the President of the Russian Federation and developed a successful career, moving through the army, the banking sector, and a series of government posts before being appointed governor by former president Vladimir Putin in October 2007.
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