The head of Russias republic of Komi announced Tuesday that he was stepping down from office, making him the third regional executive to resign in two days after the governors of Rostov and TambovOur president has entrusted me with a new federal-level role, Komi headVladimir Uyba said in a video on Telegram.
He did not say where he would be working next.Uyba, formerly the head of Russias Federal Medical-Biological Agency, was appointed to lead the republic of Komi in April 2020 after Putin dismissed his predecessor, Sergey Gaplikov, over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.Shortly afterUyba announced his resignation on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin appointed the head of Far East Russias Jewish autonomous region,Rostislav Goldshtein, to serve as Komis acting regional leader.The Vedomosti business newspaper, citing Kremlin sources, reported last month that Uyba was likely to be removed from office.
An outsider to Komi, Uyba reportedly had strained relations with local elites, a point of dissatisfaction for the Kremlin as it seeks to maintain tight control over Russias ethnic republics.Those tensions gained international attention last year when Komis former agriculture minister, Denis Sharonov, requested asylum in the United States after receiving a military draft summons, which he attributed to his long-standing conflict with Uyba.Russian political analyst Evgeniy Minchenko also anticipated Uybas resignation, ranking him among Russias regional executives with the least stable political footing in a report last month.Uybas departure comes after Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev and Tambov region Governor Maksim announced their resignations on Monday, marking the informal start of Putins annual gubernatorpad, or shake-up of regional leaders.