The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, who, according to media reports, may resign soon, will become Russia’s ambassador to Abkhazia, sources close to the presidential administration told Vedomosti.
According to one of the newspaper’s interlocutors, the appointment to Abkhazia is “a completely practical option.” Another source noted that this is a good career path if “there is a desire to exhale.” In his opinion, working as ambassador to Abkhazia does not require a heavy workload and allows him to visit Sochi, while “staying in line with state policy.”
Gladkov is in a good position in the old square (Speaking of presidential administration – approx. “Jellyfish”), noted one of Vedomosti’s interlocutors.
At the beginning of April, the newspaper’s sources expected that Gladkov would be appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.
Previously, 57-year-old Gladkov did not work in such positions. Before assuming the presidency of the Belgorod region in 2020, he was the head of the closed administrative city of Zarechny in the Penza region, then served as deputy governor of Sevastopol and deputy head of the government of the Stavropol Territory.
The fact that Gladkov may resign from the post of governor before the elections scheduled for September 2026 became known in early April. Amid rumors of an imminent resignation, the district president went on leave.
Vedomosti’s interlocutors linked Gladkov’s possible resignation to his health and the fact that the situation with government support in the region is “not the best” due to the deteriorating quality of life of local residents. Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the area has been bombed regularly. A source from Meduza close to the presidential administration said that Gladkov’s popularity ratings in the region “remain high, although declining.”