Original Russian-language document. Presidential Decree No. 708 of the President of the Russian Federation, signed 4 October 2022 — the same day the annexation ratification law (DOC-113) entered into force. The decree formally integrates the occupation administration into the Russian federal executive structure by appointing the head of the occupation administration as Acting Governor (Interim Governor) of the new Russian federal subject.
Presidential Decree No. 708 of 4 October 2022 appoints Vladimir Saldo as Acting Governor of Kherson Oblast in the Russian Federation system. Saldo had been appointed head of the occupation civil-military administration by Russia in April 2022, signed the annexation treaty on 30 September 2022 as the representative of "Kherson Oblast," and was now integrated into the Russian federal executive hierarchy as the appointed head of a new Russian federal subject. The decree is the immediate administrative step following the entry into force of the annexation ratification law, and marks the transition from occupation military administration to notional civilian federal governance. Saldo was formally sanctioned by the EU, UK, US, and other jurisdictions for his role in the occupation and annexation. The appointment to Acting Governor pending formal elections is consistent with the Russian federal constitutional procedure for newly admitted federal subjects. Elections in which only Russian citizens can vote were subsequently organised in the Russian-controlled parts of the oblast.
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Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 708
On the Temporary Performance of the Duties of the Governor of Kherson Oblast. 4 October 2022.
In accordance with Part 5 of Article 19 of Federal Law No. 184-FZ of 6 October 1999 "On the General Principles of the Organisation of Legislative (Representative) and Executive Bodies of State Authority of the Subjects of the Russian Federation," I decree:
To entrust Vladimir Vasilyevich Saldo with the temporary performance of the duties of the Governor of Kherson Oblast.
President of the Russian Federation — V. Putin
4 October 2022, Moscow
Analytical note
This decree is the third in the immediate Kherson annexation sequence, following: (1) the annexation treaty of 30 September 2022 (DOC-112), signed by Putin and Saldo; (2) the federal constitutional ratification law of 4 October 2022 (DOC-113); and (3) this decree, also of 4 October 2022. The sequence models exactly the Crimea annexation sequence of 2014: annexation treaty (18 March 2014), ratification law (21 March 2014), appointment of Acting Governor. The citation of Federal Law No. 184-FZ (on the general principles of legislative and executive bodies of Russian federal subjects) indicates that from this date, Kherson Oblast is treated by Russia as a full-fledged federal subject for purposes of executive governance, regardless of military control on the ground.