MOSCOW, February 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed decrees to replace four governors and named their replacements, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Medvedev removed Pskov Governor Mikhail Kuznetsov, Oryol Governor Yegor Stroyev, Voronezh Governor Vladimir Kulakov, and Valery Potapenko, the head of the Nenets Autonomous Area administration.
The president nominated Andrei Turchak, Alexander Kozlov, Alexei Gordeyev, and Igor Fyodorov, respectively, as their replacements.
Experts have viewed the dismissals as punishment for the governors' poor performance and a warning to others.
The changes are subject to approval by regional legislatures.
In his televised interview on Sunday, Medvedev said some of the regional governors were "inept and inefficient," and not "responsible enough in dealing with unemployment" amid the ongoing financial crisis.
Valery Potapenko's term of office was due to expire in 2010.
Alexei Gordeyev, the agriculture minister since 1999, said he was "happy" with the nomination, although some experts have viewed it as a demotion.
Stroyev, 71, one of Russia's three oldest governors, chose to step down from the post he had occupied since 1993, to be succeeded by Alexander Kozlov, deputy agriculture minister.
Turchak is a member of the ruling pro-presidential United Russia party overseeing youth organizations.
Vladislav Surkov, first deputy chief of the presidential staff, assured the press on Monday that the dismissals did not mean the president lacked confidence in the governors altogether.
"We should review the quality of state management both at the federal and provincial level," he said, adding that the move was designed to enhance regional governance.
"The president on the whole trusts his governors," Surkov said.
