Penza, 20 May 2015. PenzaNews. The Penza region governor Vasily Bochkarev, whose term will be running out next week, said Monday, May 25th, will be his final day in the office as the head of the region.

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“Last year, […] I wanted to resign. We discussed this issue. I proposed to move to a different position and recommend the man who occupied that position for the new governor. The mood was positive on this at first, but then they told me: ‘No, finish your term’,” Vasily Bochkarev said during the large press conference held in the regional government on Wednesday, May 20.

“So, as you can see, the governors have terms, the deputies have convocations,” he jested.

Originally, the head of the region added, “there were 5-6 names” in the list of candidates for the Penza region governor’s seat, but then the list was cut down to only three names.

“And the acting governor will be assigned out of those three,” the governor explained.

Only the head of the state will be deciding on who will be the new head of the region, he stressed.

“I cannot decide for the President,” Vasily Bochkarev noted.

He expressed his belief that the man who will be heading the Penza region in the future will successfully deal with the tasks at hand.

“There are good people, even well-prepared, I think, who can work. And experience is gained in the process. The only important thing is that the man should be hardworking, diligent somewhat, to keep his promise and not cheat the people,” the governor clarified.

Vasily Bochkarev also added that he plans to invite the new acting head of the region to attend the preliminary screening of Andrei Sokolov’s new film “Memory of Autumn,” scheduled for May 25th.