Vladimir Putin meets Anton Alikhanov, acting governor of Kaliningrad Oblast . The 30-year old Alikhanov has led the Russian region on the Baltic Sea since his appointment last October, and will contest gubernatorial elections as United Russia’s candidate. Photo (c): Alexey Druzhnin/Zuma Press/PA Images. All rights reserved.
On 10 September, Russia faces another election. In some places, the vote is for municipal councils, in others for regional ones; two regions are holding by-elections for the State Duma (some single-seat district representatives have resigned for various reasons). Importantly, sixteen regions will be electing their governors. Since spring, political analysts have been predicting that two in particular (Buryatia and the Sverdlovsk Oblast) will see a real struggle with an uncertain outcome. In other regions, it seemed as though victory for the Kremlin’s candidates was far from assured. Such predictions did not appear unfounded.
Waiting for the thaw
In 2004, direct elections for Russia’s regional governors were abolished. The decision was linked to the war on terror in general and Beslan terrorist attack in particular, although to this day no one has explained exactly how stripping citizens of the right to elect the heads of their own regions helps to fight terrorism. Until 2012, governors were appointed by the president, who proposed candidates for approval by regional parliaments. Because all regional parliaments were controlled by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, there were no unpleasant surprises.
