The September 2015 Regional Elections in Russia: A Rehearsal for Next Year’s National Legislative Races

Abstract:

The September 2015 elections in the regions of Russia resulted in victories for the major pro-government party, United Russia, in 11 regional legislative elections and brought success to incumbent chief executives in 21 gubernatorial elections. The performance of United Russia was better than in the previous series of regional elections, which is particularly important given that in many respects, the 2015 regional elections served as a rehearsal for the 2016 national legislative races. The results of the elections generally attested to the efficiency of political and institutional manipulation tools developed by the Russian authorities in recent years.

ESO: Background information: Russia vote setback for anti-Putin opposition coalition http://www.europeansources.info/record/russia-vote-setback-for-anti-putin-opposition-coalition/

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