Category Archives: Elections

On the ongoing municipal reform, flamboyant governors and others

The Kremlin’s municipal reform is still creating convulsions in several regions, primarily in Siberia and the Far East, which highlight some interesting patterns about multi-level governance. Meanwhile, Russia’s new cohort of eccentric governors had a bad month – but this … Continue reading

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On Russia’s upcoming elections and why they matter

Russia will hold regular regional and local elections on September 12-14 . The “single day of voting” – admittedly, the name is a little confusing given that since 2020 elections in many regions have been held over two or three … Continue reading

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On regional finances, Varangians vs locals, and others

Looking back on the past couple of weeks in Russian politics, I am going over the state of regional finances as of the end of May, pointing out why and where there are politically risky pressure points that will not … Continue reading

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On new normals, regional finances and others

Thoughts on number-crunching after the elections and why research into falsification is important. Why did Putin have to have 87%? Musings about regional finances in early 2024. And some stories from the regions that didn’t make the cut in Bear … Continue reading

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Signals from the mountains

Over the past weeks, the Republic of Altai, a small, rural region bordering China and Kazakhstan was, if not at the top of Russia’s domestic news agenda, but at least noted. The reason was an ongoing dispute between the governor … Continue reading

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What is at stake in Russia’s regional and municipal elections?

On September 8-10 Russia holds regional gubernatorial or legislative elections in 33 of its 83 regions, including in Moscow. Apart from these votes, a number of municipal votes will be held across the country, and the occupying authorities will stage … Continue reading

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A mayor issue

The issue of direct mayoral elections and of local representative democracy in general is triggering protest movements and referendum initiatives in several Russian regions. This is partly due to national and regional politics becoming less and less pluralistic. However, the … Continue reading

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