Putin signs decree to relive Kozak of his duty as deputy presidential administration head

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to relieve Dmitry Kozak of his duties as the deputy head of the presidential administration.

The document says that Dmitry Kozak "is to be relieved of his duty of the deputy head of the Russian president’s administration."

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier in the day that Kozak had resigned.

Kozak is one of the "long-serving" members of the Russian presidential administration. He began working in the Kremlin in 1999 as the deputy head of legal affairs. At the time, Boris Yeltsin was president and Alexander Voloshin was the head of his administration.

After Vladimir Putin was appointed prime minister, Kozak moved to the government, where he headed the apparatus. In 2000, Kozak returned to the Kremlin, becoming first deputy head of the administration.