AFP, MOSCOWRussian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday sacked a regional leader who forced a firefighter to jump in the air to receive keys for new fire engines. After a video emerged on social media, Ignatyev’s press service tried to play down the scandal, saying that the men were friendly acquaintances. However, Russian Minister of Emergency Situations Yevgeny Zinichev said Ignatyev’s behavior was unethical. In a speech on Jan. 13, he said such journalists “need to be rubbed out, as the ordinary folk say. Putin appointed Russian lawmaker Oleg Nikolayev as acting head of Chuvashia, pending elections of a new regional chief.

Source: Taipei Times January 30, 2020 16:06 UTC