Kommersant sources: Karelia Governor Parfenchikov may not seek a third term

What Kommersant reports

Head of Karelia Artur Parfenchikov, whose second term expires next autumn, will not seek the governor's post again and expects to 'return to the federal level'. This is reported by Kommersant, citing sourcesclose to the administration of the Russian president; the outlet notes that the job change is Parfenchikov's own wish — before leading the republic he headed the Federal Bailiff Service.

Timing and conditions of the decision

The outlet's sources suggested that Parfenchikov may leave the post even before his term ends — as early as this year. In their view, how events unfold depends on Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Parfenchikov's university classmate, and presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev, whom the sources call the informal curator of Karelia. A source in the Northwestern Federal District's presidential envoy's office claims that the governor 'sees himself at the federal level', since 'he has made no particular missteps in domestic politics', but he may face problems due to 'slowness' in building civilian infrastructure to support the growing number of troops stationed in the republic. The decision on his future career, the source believes, will be made in the spring, because 'there is no queue for the governor's post'.

What to keep in mind

The report relies entirely on anonymous sources from a single outlet: there is neither a statement from Parfenchikov himself nor any official decision on his resignation or transfer to the federal center. The article does not name a specific position he might seek and offers no confirmation of the departure timeline — 'this year' and 'spring' appear only as versions suggested by Kommersant's sources.