ABSTRACT
Shortly afterwards Valentina Matviyenko, the Presidential Representative to the North-Western Federal Okrug since March, announced her candidacy in the gubernatorial elections; she obtained the support of President Putin to an extent that was unprecedented for a candidate in regional elections. On 30 June 2010 Katanandov resigned as Head of the Republic; his successor was Andrei Nelidov, formerly the co-ordinator of Year in the North-Western Federal Okrug and a representative of the Kareliyan executive in the upper chamber of the federal legislature, the Federation Council. In August 2007 Prusak resigned as Governor, after the Presidential Representative in the North-Western Federal Okrug criticized the level of corruption in the Oblast. Pskov Oblast's gross regional product (GRP) amounted to 114,247m. Roubles or 173,355 roubles per head in 2013- the latter figure by far the lowest in the North-Western Federal Okrug.
