Georgy Poltavchenko, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, will resign ahead of early elections in which he may not stand, Russian press report.

      Poltavchenko, who has been serving as governor of St. Petersburg since 2011, is likely to step down next year before city elections in the fall, according to a report in business daily Vedomosti citing anonymous sources in the State Duma.

      It is still not clear whether Poltavchenko will be appointed acting governor in order to participate in the elections, or whether he will be replaced, Vedomosti said.

      In his recent interview for Vedomosti Poltavchenko said he had “not thought about” early elections, or whether he would take part in them.

      The career of the current St. Petersburg governor may follow an example of Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin who triggered early elections in the Russian capital when he unexpectedly stepped down in summer 2013. Then Sobyanin took part in the early elections and won it with 51 percent of the vote.