Regional Elections in Russia: the Kremlin Is Tackling Previous Challenges While Facing New Ones
SEPTEMBER 2019 10 Jussi Lassila, Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of Intenational Affairs REGIONAL ELECTIONS IN RUSSIA THE KREMLIN IS TACKLING PREVIOUS CHALLENGES WHILE FACING NEW ONES The Kremlin is trying to learn lessons from old problems regarding its electoral authoritarian system, but new ones are constantly emerging. At the heart of these is the Kremlin’s party system. This year, Russia’s regional elec- regime’s candidates, as well as of which provides a clear indication tions were a follow-up to the ones those candidates who receive protest of the spirit in which the Kremlin held in 2018. In 2018, the principal votes. The reputation of the main foisted its favourites into power. focus was on the re-election of Mos- opposition parties in the Duma, the In St. Petersburg, President Pu- cow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, which Russian Liberal Democratic Party tin’s trusted Alexander Beglov, the played out according to the Krem- and the Communist Party, as genu- highly unpopular governor, proved lin’s script. By contrast, candidates ine political alternatives is also weak. to be a headache for the Kremlin from the Kremlin’s ruling party, However, in the regional elections, it until election day. In polls, Beglov’s United Russia, lost as many as four was the Communist Party’s “too op- strongest contender, the Commu- gubernatorial elections. Primorsky positional” candidates in particular, nist Party’s 73-year-old Vladimir Krai in Russia’s Far East witnessed and candidates who might gather Bortko, stood a good chance of tak- the biggest scandal when Commu- protest votes that appeared to pose ing the race to the second round, nist Party of the Russian Federation a risk to the regime.
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