Politics Regional power in Russia firmly in the hands of the Kremlin

In the Russian regional elections, the Moscow leadership has declared the Kremlin party United Russia and its representatives the winners. The three-day election was seen as a test of public opinion to see to what extent Russian society can be controlled and mobilized after two and a half years of aggressive war against Ukraine.

The central election commission in Moscow and its regional branches reported a higher voter turnout than in previous years. Russia traditionally combines upcoming regional and local elections at the beginning of September. However, observers such as the electoral rights organization Golos (Voice), which is classified as a foreign agent, pointed out that the state had artificially pushed up the turnout.

Is danger to the fatherland driving voters to the polls?

Ella Pamfilova, the election director appointed by President Vladimir Putin, presented it as if the danger to Russia, the invasion of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, had spurred voters on. "People have shown maximum responsibility, bravery and real civic courage," said Pamfilova in Moscow.

For example, the turnout was 42.2 percent for Kaliningrad in the west, 41.95 percent for Sakhalin Island in the east and 54 percent for Sevastopol on the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.

A total of around 4,000 different votes were cast from Friday to Sunday in the world's largest country by area. More than 57 million people were called upon to vote. Among other things, 21 regional governors or heads of republics were elected. There were also numerous city and regional parliaments. No real opposition was allowed in the elections.

"We are seeing very confident, high results for the party of power," commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Accordingly, United Russia won all of its candidates for governorships. The head of the northern metropolis of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, suffered a setback. He was awarded a result of just under 60 percent - the weakest result among the top regional posts.

In Russia's most westernized city, Beglov (68) is considered unpopular due to his mismanagement; the Kremlin is nevertheless holding on to him. In President Vladimir Putin's home town, observers complained of a particularly high level of election manipulation.

Many governors at just under 80 percent

In other regions, results of around 80 percent were usually announced for the incumbents, such as for Igor Babushkin in the Astrakhan region (78.17 percent) or Vladimir Vladimirov in the Stavropol region (79.61 percent). The head of the republic of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, is said to have received 80.21% of the vote. At the beginning of 2024, he had protests against the conviction of a local environmental activist crushed.

In the Kursk region, which is partially occupied by Ukrainian troops, the provisional governor Alexander Smirnov was credited with around 65%. He had cut a rather unfortunate figure in public appearances in view of the unusual crisis for Russia that parts of the territory are under foreign control. There were separate polling stations for around 120,000 refugees from the embattled region.

Russian elections just a "fun procedure"?

Many state employers had urged their employees to vote, the election observers from Golos wrote in their report. However, the pressure was less than in the presidential election in March, in which Putin claimed a record 88.5 percent of the vote.

Golos criticized the fact that voting machines, which are difficult to control, are increasingly being used instead of ballot papers. Candidates who were not loyal to the party line were prevented from standing for election. The state-controlled media had prevented a debate on real problems during the election campaign. For Russian voters, elections have degenerated into a "fun procedure with online voting, competitions, game pieces and cakes at the polling station".