Moscow: President Vladimir Putin has relieved Dmitry Kozak of his duties as deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, according to a presidential decree issued on Thursday.
The one-line decree gave no reason for the move and did not say what Kozak intended to do.
A Kremlin statement had earlier said that Kozak, a long-time figure in Putin’s administration, had resigned.
The RBC news outlet said Kozak had sent a resignation letter and was considering various options to go into business.
Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
“I can confirm that Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak has resigned. At his own request.”
Kozak had worked alongside Putin since the 1990s, when the two men were together in the administration of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city. He played a key role in overseeing the organisation of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.