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Kremlin Announces Governor Resignations, New Appointments, and Upcoming Putin Visit to China

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the resignations of the governors of the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, appointing acting replacements. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed preparations for Putin's upcoming visit to China and his participation in a mechanical engineers' congress.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage May 13–14, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the resignations of the governors of two key border regions and appointed acting replacements, while the Kremlin confirmed that preparations for Putin's visit to China are complete and the visit will take place soon. The announcements were made on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov detailing the president's schedule during a briefing on Thursday.

According to TASS, the Kremlin announced on May 13 that Putin appointed Yegor Kovalchuk as acting governor of the Bryansk region, replacing Alexander Bogomaz, who had held the post since 2014 and was relieved of his duties. In a separate move, Putin accepted the resignation of Vyacheslav Gladkov as governor of the Belgorod Region and appointed Alexander Shuvayev as acting head of that region.

Coverage Comparison

The reports, both from TASS, provide consistent information about the personnel changes. The first article, published on May 13, focused on the appointments and resignations, detailing the backgrounds of the new acting governors: Kovalchuk had been leading the government of the Lugansk People's Republic since July 2024, and Shuvayev had served as vice-governor of the Irkutsk Region since January.

The second article, dated May 14, covered Peskov's briefing, which addressed the resignations, the president's upcoming engagement with the Russian Mechanical Engineers Union, and the China visit. Both articles attribute information to the Kremlin and to Peskov, with no conflicting accounts noted.

Key Claims

Governor Resignations: Both Vyacheslav Gladkov of the Belgorod Region and Alexander Bogomaz of the Bryansk Region have stepped down, as reported by TASS in two separate articles. The resignations were accepted by Putin.
New Acting Governors: Yegor Kovalchuk was appointed acting governor of the Bryansk Region, and Alexander Shuvayev was appointed acting head of the Belgorod Region, per the Kremlin's website as quoted by TASS.
Kovalchuk's Previous Role: Kovalchuk had been in charge of the government of the Lugansk People's Republic since July 2024, according to TASS.
Shuvayev's Background: Shuvayev served as vice-governor of the Irkutsk Region since January, as reported by TASS.
Kremlin's Assessment: Peskov stated that both former governors worked under extraordinary conditions for many years and demonstrated high effectiveness, adding that they will be offered employment options. He also confirmed that Putin spoke with both Gladkov and Bogomaz before accepting their resignations.
Putin's Schedule: Peskov announced that Putin will take part in the 10th Congress of the Russian Mechanical Engineers Union. He also said that Putin's visit to China is being prepared and will take place soon, with dates to be announced shortly.

Perspectives

The Kremlin's perspective, as conveyed by Peskov, emphasizes the governors' service under extraordinary conditions and their high effectiveness, with no complaints about their work. The appointments of new acting governors are presented as routine personnel changes.

The timing of the resignations, coming amid ongoing conflict in the border regions, has drawn attention, though neither TASS article offers explicit causal explanation. The Kremlin's acknowledgment that the governors worked under "extraordinary conditions" may implicitly reference the security challenges faced by Belgorod and Bryansk regions.

The announcement of Putin's upcoming China visit fits within the broader context of Russia's diplomatic engagement, with Peskov indicating that preparations are essentially complete.

It is worth noting that the reports rely solely on Russian state media, and no independent verification of the personnel changes or the planned China visit has been provided. The exact dates of the China visit remain undisclosed, as Peskov said they would be announced soon.

How this outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

TASS — English as of May 13, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC

Framing: Our reading Personnel changes in Russian regional governance — Neutral

Facts Included:

Vladimir Putin appointed Yegor Kovalchuk as acting governor of the Bryansk region
Vyacheslav Gladkov resigned as governor of the Belgorod Region
Alexander Shuvayev was appointed as acting head of the Belgorod Region
Alexander Bogomaz was relieved of the governor post of the Bryansk Region
Yegor Kovalchuk was in charge of the government of the Lugansk People's Republic since July 2024
Alexander Shuvayev was vice-governor of the Irkutsk Region since January

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of May 14, 2026, 12:31 PM UTC

Framing: Our reading Kremlin briefing on governor resignations and Putin's schedule — Neutral

Facts Included:

Vyacheslav Gladkov and Alexander Bogomaz resigned as governors
Preparations for Putin's visit to China
Putin's schedule for the 10th Congress of the Russian Mechanical Engineers Union
Gladkov and Bogomaz worked under extraordinary conditions and demonstrated high effectiveness
Putin spoke with Gladkov and Bogomaz before accepting their resignations

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimVladimir Putin appointed Yegor Kovalchuk as acting governor of the Bryansk region. Yegor Kovalchuk has been in charge of the government of the Lugansk People's Republic since July 2024.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 13, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimVyacheslav Gladkov resigned as governor of the Belgorod Region and Alexander Bogomaz was relieved of the governor post of the Bryansk Region.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 13, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimAlexander Shuvayev was appointed as acting head of the Belgorod Region. Alexander Shuvayev has been vice-governor of the Irkutsk Region since January.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 13, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimVyacheslav Gladkov and Alexander Bogomaz worked under extraordinary conditions and demonstrated high effectiveness.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 14, 2026, 12:31 PM UTC
ClaimPutin spoke with Gladkov and Bogomaz before accepting their resignations from their governor posts.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 14, 2026, 12:31 PM UTC
ClaimPutin will take part in the 10th Congress of the Russian Mechanical Engineers Union and visit China soon.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 14, 2026, 12:31 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 6 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14