The President instructed Mr Zhilkin to fully implement the plans that had been set out by the late governor of the region, Anatoly Guzhvin, and that he had already begun carrying out.
Mr Guzhvin’s death is a great loss for everyone – he was a wonderful person and one of the best leaders in Russia, Mr Putin said.
The President said he hoped that the team of like-minded people put together by Mr Guzhvin would now work under Mr Zhilkin’s direction effectively, smoothly and for the good of the people of Astrakhan Oblast until elections to choose a new governor are held.