On July 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin relieved the governor of Kaliningrad Oblast, Nikolay Tsukanov, of his duties (Krpress.ru, July 29). Tsukanov’s temporary replacement, Major-General Evgeny Zinichev, used to head the local branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) (Rugrad.eu, July 28). Later, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Zinichev had previously also served as a presidential bodyguard (RBC, July 29). According to Peskov, this and several other personnel reshuffles in Kaliningrad—which increased the number of “siloviki” (security services personnel) in the regional executive branch—were allegedly carried out to “strengthen efficiency” and “correct negative growth rates where necessary” (Lenta.ru, July 28). …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation