Penza, 21 May 2015. PenzaNews. The Penza region governor, who earlier had announced he has no plans for taking part in the 2015 autumn gubernatorial elections, may continue his career in the Russian Federation Council after joining the Legislative Assembly, the newspaper “Kommersant” quotes its sources.

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As the newspaper recaps, the previous representative of the Penza region in the Federation Council Lyubov Glebova moved on to head Rossotrudnichestvo, and this position is currently vacant.

Proceeding on to the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament is the most plausible future for Vasily Bochkarev’s career, thinks the renown Penza political analyst Anatoly Bodrov.

“It is very important for him to continue influencing the regional policy for some time, since an abrupt leave of the man who grew to be the foundation of the system may cause a mess,” the expert explained.

Several newspapers and news agencies name different possible candidates for acting governor of the Penza region. Among them are Ivan Belozertsev, speaker of the regional Legislative Assembly and chairman of the local United Russia Party branch; Igor Rudensky, State Duma deputy for the Penza region; Oleg Melnichenko, deputy to the Russian Presidential Envoy in the Volga Federal District; Alexander Gulyakov, Penza State University principal, and more.