Russia’s regional elections on Sunday, Sept. 13, appear to be a major victory for the United Russia, the party most allied with Putin. (Putin ran as an independent in 2018, but had run as United Russia in 2012.) Voters were electing governors, regional legislatures, and city councils in 83 of their 85 regions. As polls closed, all of United Russia’s candidates for governorships of the various regions led by large margins, based upon exit polls showing 58-85% results. Also, it appears that they will also win majorities in every one of the regional legislatures. Izvestia summed up with an analysis from Valery Fedorov, Director General of the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center: “It is the ruling party that represents support for the president and the government. Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Mishustin enjoy rather high approval ratings and by voting for United Russia, people show their support for the president and the prime minister.” Official results are to be announced later today.
Three leaders of Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation in Novosibirsk and Tomsk — the two cities in Siberia that the foundation concentrated upon — appear to have been elected to the local city councils. United Russia appears to hold a slim majority in Novosibirsk city council, but in the university town of Tomsk, they hold only 11 out of the 37 seats, with the others distributed amongst the various parties.
