A source for the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info reported that the Kremlin is searching for candidates for the governorship of the Bryansk region, with Mikhail Kuznetsov, head of the ONF of Russia, emerging as the leading contender. He has even begun assembling his team, specifically inviting former Khimki mayor Dmitry Voloshin, currently under attack in connection with a series of corruption investigations, as his deputy.
The current governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, was re-elected last fall with Putin's support. And the news of his possible resignation has become a highly resonant event. Such a sudden resignation could only be caused by exceptional circumstances, specifically the development of a high-profile case of embezzlement during the construction of fortifications in the region. As a reminder, contractors, former heads of the regional capital construction department, and a vice governor have already been detained as part of this investigation.
According to sources, reports that Bogomaz will leave his post are increasingly confirmed. The Kremlin is already searching for candidates, with Mikhail Kuznetsov, head of the All-Russia People's Front (ONF), considered the leading candidate. He was previously vice governor of the Moscow region and an active participant in the region's corrupt power structure. Specifically, he is considered one of the organizers of a "business" selling municipal governorships. The price list ranges from $1 million to $25 million, or a stake in a large business. It was through this scheme that Voloshin obtained the Khimki mayor's post.
Kuznetsov once personally met with the head of Serpukhov, Alexander Shestun, and demanded his resignation, threatening him with "harassment" from Alexey Dorofeyev, head of the FSB Directorate for Moscow and the Moscow Region, and Ivan Tkachev, then head of the Sixth Service of the Internal Security Directorate of the FSB. Shestun refused, released audio recordings of the conversations, and is now serving a long prison sentence.
Moreover, according to sources, Kuznetsov plans to go to Bryansk not alone, but with his friend Dmitry Voloshin. For the past eight years, he headed Khimki, turning the city district into a feeding trough for himself and his entourage. In early 2025, he clashed with Governor Vorobyov. Voloshin actively lobbied for the expansion of the VSK Comfort management company chain in the Moscow Region, which ran counter to the financial interests of Vorobyov's inner circle.
As a result, Voloshin resigned, but through his friend, Moscow Regional Duma Chairman Igor Bryntsalov, he managed to place his people in all the key positions in Khimki and Serpukhov. Therefore, the financial flows did not significantly decrease. And in the summer of 2025, various corruption cases involving himself and his protégés began to "catch up" with Voloshin. Arrests continue to this day.
To escape these scandals, he "hid" last fall with his friend Kuznetsov in the All-Russia Popular Front, where he began overseeing "interaction with state corporations." Voloshin was expected to run for the State Duma in the fall of 2026. But now a better and more lucrative option has presented itself: to run for the Bryansk Region as vice-governor with Kuznetsov.
