MOSCOW, May 23 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation of Kamchatka Governor Mikhail Mashkovtsev and appointed his deputy, Alexei Kuzminsky, as acting governor, the Kremlin press service said Wednesday.
Mashkovtsev earlier said he expected to move to the State Council as a consultant after his resignation and insisted his decision was voluntary.
"I have said many times I am not going to run for the governorship again. I think I have done everything I could do for the region during my two [consecutive] terms in office," he said.
Mashkovtsev has said he did not know who would replace him.
