Head of Gokhran Resigns, But Government Cannot Find Replacement

 Vladimir Rybkin, handed in his resignation three months ago, but his request remains unanswered, according to three sources familiar with the situation, the newswire reported.

 "The government simply can't find a replacement for him - nobody wants to take on such a huge list of responsibilities," one of the sources said. A new head of Gokhran may be found in the early summer, another source said.

The Gokhran played a key role following the global financial crisis of 2008 and the global slowdown that followed which saw a sharp decline in demand for diamonds when it bought $1 billion worth of diamonds from state-owned diamond monopoly Alrosa.

The purchase of the rough diamonds enabled Alrosa to continue mining and prevented the firm from having to fire thousands of workers.

The Gokhran has still not finished sorting the diamonds due to a shortage of diamond sorters, according to one of the sources said.