Former Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov to be sent as Russian ambassador to Abkhazia

Source: Vedomosti

Vyacheslav Gladkov, who stepped down as governor of Russia’s Belgorod region in May, is set to become Russia’s ambassador to Georgia’s Kremlin-backed separatist region of Abkhazia. The State Duma’s committee on CIS affairs has approved his candidacy for the post.

Konstantin Zatulin, the committee’s first deputy chairman, said the discussion of Gladkov’s candidacy took place in closed session, with the former governor fielding questions from deputies.

Gladkov’s appointment, Zatulin added, was “connected to a change of ambassador in Abkhazia.” Mikhail Shurgalin has served as Russia’s ambassador to Abkhazia since 2022.

The Russian business daily Vedomosti reported in late April — when Gladkov had not yet left his post as governor — citing sources, that he could become ambassador to Abkhazia after stepping down.

Sources close to Russia’s Presidential Administration told Meduza that the possibility of Gladkov moving to Moscow — either into the government or the State Duma — had been under consideration for several years. In April 2026, those sources described appointing Gladkov as ambassador to Abkhazia as “logical.” Gladkov, they said, has the support of the inner circle of Sergey Kiriyenko, the head of the Kremlin’s political bloc, whose area of responsibility includes Abkhazia.

Gladkov was governor of Belgorod region from 2021. Rumors of his resignation emerged in April 2026. On May 13, it was announced that Gladkov had submitted his resignation. Alexander Shuvaev — a participant in Russia’s war against Ukraine who had previously served as deputy head of Irkutsk region — was appointed acting head of the Belgorod region.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

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Former Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov to be sent as Russian ambassador to Abkhazia

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Former Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov to be sent as Russian ambassador to Abkhazia

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