By Isabel Gorst in Moscow
Published: August 7 2007 21:05 | Last updated: August 7 2007 21:05
Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Ivan Malakhov, the governor of Sakhalin Island, and named Alexander Khoroshavin, the mayor of Okha, an oil town on the north-east of the island, as his temporary replacement.
The Russian president earlier criticised Mr Malakhov’s administration for its slow response to an earthquake last week that left thousands homeless on Sakhalin Island, a narrow strip of land bordering one of the world’s biggest untapped oil and gas provinces.