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Medvedev Appoints Buryatia, Leningrad Region Governors

Leningrad region Governor Valery Serdyukov, who was replaced Saturday by his deputy Alexander Drozdenko.

Outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday promoted Leningrad region deputy head Alexander Drozdenko to the post of governor of the region, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.

If approved by the regional legislature, Drozdenko will replace his current boss Valery Serdyukov, who has been head of the region since 1998 and whose term is scheduled to be up in July, RIA-Novosti reported.

Medvedev on Saturday also reappointed Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn head of the republic of Buryatia, a post Nagovitsyn has held since July 2007, according to a statement on the Kremlin website.

Elections chief Vladimir Churov said Saturday that at least two gubernatorial elections will be held on Oct. 14, the first such elections following the passage of a law set to take effect June 1 that reinstates popular votes for governors, RIA-Novosti reported. Churov did not specify in which regions elections would take place.

Gubernatorial elections will be held Oct. 14 for all governors whose terms are set to expire from the period of June 1 to Dec. 31.

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