View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. World
  2. Asia
14 September 2020

Russia’s local elections: Navalny’s anti-Kremlin campaigning pays off

Ruling party candidates have swept to victory in almost every regional contest – but the opposition also demonstrated its potential.

By Ido Vock

President Vladimir Putin’s ruling party, United Russia, retained control of councils and governorships in most of the 41 regions which went to the polls for local elections on Sunday, 13 September. However, the party has lost its majority in the local councils of Tomsk and Novosibirsk, where opposition leader Alexei Navalny had been touting his “smart voting” strategy in the weeks before he was poisoned

The vote was marred by accusations of widespread irregularities. The election monitor Golos said that it had received several reports that people had attempted to vote, only to find out that their ballot had already been issued and they had already voted. New multi-day voting and mobile election boxes allowed the authorities to boost turnout from loyal voters and evade scrutiny from monitors, said Ben Noble, a professor of Russian politics at University College London.

“It seems that the Kremlin has found a way to deal with United Russia’s low approval rating, currently around 30 per cent. That’s the most important thing regarding the 2021 Duma elections,” Noble said. “But these were not easily won successes – far from it.”

Golos also accused the government of using the pandemic “as an excuse to make the electoral system even more opaque and subject to manipulation, including direct falsifications”.

Local controversies became a lightning rod for opposition in many of the regions where United Russia incumbents faced relatively strong challengesIn Arkhangelsk, the sitting governor was returned once again, but only after facing a campaign which galvanised anger against an unpopular project for a huge landfill that was halted earlier this year.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

[See also: who is the “poisoned” Russian opposition leader?]

In Tomsk, opposition candidates won 19 of 27 seats on the city council, TV2 reported, an especially poignant result given that Navalny had been campaigning in the Siberian city when he was poisoned. Navalny had advocated anti-Kremlin tactical voting, a strategy which appears to have worked in a handful of locations – even with its main proponent out of action since August. Several officials targeted by his investigations and accused of corruption lost their seats. 

The results of these regional elections, viewed as a dress rehearsal for next year’s elections to the Duma, will have reassured the Kremlin that it is, for the moment, able to keep a lid on opposition challenges at the ballot box. But they also demonstrate the potential for local campaigning to galvanise voters against the Kremlin. 

Content from our partners
The promise of prevention
How Labour hopes to make the UK a leader in green energy
Is now the time to rethink health and care for older people? With Age UK

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU