President Vladimir Putin fired the Regional Development Minister Oleg Govorun on Wednesday and appointed Igor Slyunyaev in his place.
Last week, Putin issued a decree demanding a reprimand for Govorun as well as for Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov and Labor Minister Maxim Topilin saying they were not implementing presidential decrees.
Forbes magazine, citing a source, said Govorun was disappointed by Putin’s accusations, which he called “groundless.” A Regional Development Ministry source said that after Putin’s criticism Govorun did not come to work for almost a week.
Putin criticized the preparation of the 2013-2015 budget in September for not taking into account the cost of pension reform. He also asked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to reprimand certain ministers.