During a plenary session on May 14, the State Duma approved the candidacies of 16 'civilian' ministers suggested by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Leaders from four regions assumed positions in the government.
Governor Mikhail Degtyarev, who took office in July 2020, shortly after the arrest of the other LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) governor, Sergey Furgal, has become the Minister of Sport. Degtyarev’s gubernatorial term was marked by pro-Furgal rallies and the oppression of the former governor’s supporters. Eventually, the 'I'm/We're Sergey Furgal' movement was recognized as extremist.
After the onset of the war in Ukraine, Mikhail Degtyarev expressed his desire to go to the front lines but couldn't abandon his post. Khabarovsk residents then collected 26,000 signatures for the governor's resignation so that he could pursue his dream.
Roman Starovoyt, who left the Federal Road Agency in 2019 to lead Kursk Oblast, has been appointed as the Minister of Transport. As the governor of Kursk Oblast, Starovoyt replaced Alexander Mikhailov, who had governed the region for 18 years.
Starovoyt supported and actively promoted the war in Ukraine among citizens. He participated in Wagner PMC courses and led a volunteer brigade. Kursk Oblast is the first Russian border region to change governors during the war.
Sergey Tsivilev, former coal businessman and the head of Kuzbass since 2018, has been named the Minister of Energy. Tsivilev is known for renaming the region to KuZbass with an emphasized Z in official documents following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In 2022, journalists discovered that Tsivilev was married to Putin’s great-niece. In early May, the governor and his wife, Anna, were awarded the title of 'Kuzbass Honorary Citizens.'
Governor Anton Alikhanov of Kaliningrad Oblast has been appointed as the Minister of Industry and Trade. Before heading the region, he ran a department in the same ministry.
As governor, Alikhanov referred to Kaliningrad-born Immanuel Kant as a 'Russian trophy,' accused the late philosopher of instigating the war in Ukraine, and introduced payouts for expatriates who decided to return to Russia.
