The government party United Russia He has obtained large majorities in the Russian regional elections, with at least 70% of the votes in the districts in which he ran.
Over the weekend, by-elections of State Duma deputies were held in four districts and votes for 16 regional parliaments, as well as elections of governors in more than 20 regions. In almost all places, Putinism remains strong, at least on paper.
Electoral competition was limited, as the authorities prevented strong candidates from running and control of the media is almost total.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, very close to Putin, won practically without opposition. more than 75% of the votes, according to preliminary results. 10 years ago his rival was Alexei Navalny, which came second with 27% of the votes. Navalny is in jail today, like all the dissident leaders who did not escape in time.
The most critical sectors have pointed out that the elections in Moscow were easily manipulated due to the capital’s electronic voting system, which according to them is impossible to audit. Similar systems have been used in many other Russian regions.