Residents of Dagestan doubt soon change of republic's head

The appointment of Sergey Chenchik, the Chief of Staff of the Rosgvardiya (Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation), to the post of the head of Dagestan in the near future is unlikely, Dagestani experts and users of social networks believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 15, Maxim Shevchenko, a journalist and a member of the Presidential Council for Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, reported in a social network, citing information from "reliable sources", that the above Sergey Chenchik may replace in the near future Ramazan Abdulatipov as the head of Dagestan.

According to Gadjimet Safaraliev, a State Duma MP from Dagestan, Abdulatipov will work as the head of Dagestan to the end of his term. "There was time, when they replaced earlier heads of Dagestan, and I knew the successor 3-4 months in advance... Gossip and fluctuations are just not necessary," the edition "Caucasus. Realities" quotes Mr Safaraliev as saying.

"With the appointment of Abdulatipov, Shevchenko was right and exact in due time; however, now, it rather looks like an information throw-in. What is it for? They either just check the reaction of the population, or want us to happily agree to someone more civilian," a Facebook user under the nickname of Murad Khamidov suggests in his comment on Shevchenko's entry.

"ARG (Abdulatipov, Ramazan Gadjimuradovich) has a year in office left; and he, most likely, will work it out, although someone may have another wish. The Kremlin will not change horses in midstream; the political situation in the world is not the one to rock the boat," another Facebook user under the nickname of Aliaskhab Umakhanov, made his comment.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.