Kalmyk president to step down

Kalmyk President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov plans to step down after his current term expires next month.

Ilyumzhinov, who has headed his Volga republic for almost 17 years,  is foursquare behind President Dmitry Medvedev's drive to bring new blood into the regional leadership.

He says he will stay in the republic, where he is going to organize the visit of the Dalai Lama and continue in his capacity of president of the International Chess Federation. 

The past year has seen the departure of several veteran governors some of whom had ruled their regions since 1991.