INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday appointed Alexander Dronov as acting guv of northwestern Russias Novgorod area, almost a month after
the previous guv stepped down from office.Dronov, who utilized to work as very first deputy governor of the Novgorod region, succeeds Andrei
Nikitin, who resigned on Feb
7 to become Russias deputy transportation minister.Nikitin is expected to supervise Russias drone production as it seeks to counter Ukraines
battlefield benefit in unmanned aerial systems, according to sources cited by the organization paper Vedomosti.Dronov, 45, is a graduate of
the Kremlins program for training guvs, which is led by First Deputy Chief of Staff Sergei Kiriyenko.His appointment comes ahead of
gubernatorial elections in Novgorod and 17 other areas this coming September.Analysts havenoted a shift in the Kremlins approach to handling
regional leaders, now favoring connection over reshuffling.This practice suggests [Moscow] thinks the team operating in the region has
sufficient capacity for additional development which no significant overhaul is needed, Konstantin Kostin, a former senior presidential
administration official, told Vedomosti last month.
