Coronavirus claims life of ex-governor who filed lawsuit against Vladimir Putin

Mikhail Ignatiev, the former governor of Chuvashia, has died from COVID-19, officials confirm. He was reportedly hospitalized in early May in St. Petersburg with double pneumonia and placed on life support.

In late May, Ignatiev became the first governor ever to challenge a presidential dismissal order by Vladimir Putin. Russia’s Supreme Court planned to hear the case on June 30. 

Mikhail Ignatiev became Chuvashia’s governor in 2010, after serving eight years as the republic’s agriculture minister. In January 2020, Putin fired him “due to a loss of confidence,” following two scandals involving Ignatiev’s public behavior.