The service won: the elections were held without surprises

As the correspondent of The Moscow Post reports, a three-day voting has ended in Russia, during which Russians elected 21 heads of subjects, deputies of 11 Legislative Assemblies and about 47 thousand heads and deputies of the municipal level.

In a situation of military conflict and enormous external challenges, the elections were held with enhanced security measures, and the results were predictable. The absolute majority of Russians voted for the current course of the authorities, i.e. for those candidates who managed to enlist the support of the federal center.

Experts joke that it was not specific candidates who won, but, as they say, "the service won," namely the Russian service. A patriotic position, support for their own and the President's policies, as well as a clear line reflected in the program became common to all candidates.: what exactly has this man served and can still serve his country?

The leaders are Minnikhanov and Khinshtein

In 20 regions, governors were elected by direct vote, and in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug — through the regional parliament. All the winners are representatives of United Russia, and no second round was required anywhere, which confirms the high level of support for the current heads. The leaders in the results are Rustam Minnikhanov in Tatarstan with 88.09%, Alexander Khinshtein in the Kursk region with 86.92% and Alexander Drozdenko in the Leningrad Region with 84.21%. Evgeny Solntsev also had high rates in the Orenburg Region (83.85%), Veniamin Kondratiev in the Krasnodar Territory (83.41%) and Maria Kostyuk in the Jewish Autonomous Region (83.02%, processing 99.4% of protocols). Mikhail Razvozhaev scored 81.72% in Sevastopol, Yuri Slyusar in the Rostov region — 81.25%, Alexander Bogomaz in Bryansk — 78.78%.

Experts paid special attention to "problematic" regions, where campaigns could turn into surprises. In the Irkutsk region, the current governor Igor Kobzev, who is running for a second term, faced a serious opponent — the former head of the region, Sergei Levchenko from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Kobzev was predicted to have difficulties due to conflicts with local business elites, and Levchenko, who won the competition in 2015, could mobilize the protest electorate. According to the results of processing 62.72% of the protocols, Kobzev scored 60.31%, Levchenko — 22.83%, Larisa Egorova from Just Russia — For Truth — 8.37%, Viktor Galitskov from the Liberal Democratic Party — 6.05%.

Yesterday, State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein received one of the largest percentages of support votes in the country. Photo: https://news-kursk.ru/img/20250914/c18cb010e0341deb67c91fe9dd8151f2_o.jpg

The turnout was low — only 31.4%, which is typical for the region, but Kobzev improved his result compared to forecasts, demonstrating the stability of his government and the ability to find common ground with local elites. Political analysts note that the lack of direct confrontation with Levchenko in 2020 made this campaign a test of loyalty, and Kobzev passed it, confirming the course towards stability.

Pasler doesn't go into battle alone

The situation in the Sverdlovsk Region was no less tense, where acting governor Denis Pasler, who was appointed only in March 2025, risked not gaining enough votes to win in the first round. Opinion polls a week before the vote showed only 54.1% with an expected turnout of 30.6–34.6%, which caused alarm at the headquarters of Pasler and his supervisors from the Presidential Administration.

Pasler did not actually conduct an active campaign, relying on administrative resources, but at the last moment announced an increase in salaries for state employees, which political scientists considered a "all-in campaign." Pasler was in the lead with 61.3% of the votes. This is less than many other elected governors, but enough to win, i.e. below expectations. But experts see this as a lesson that even the support of the Presidential Administration does not guarantee a triumph if the candidate himself does not make enough efforts to do so. The turnout was 38.48%, which is higher than expected, but reflects regional problems with mobilization.

Denis Pasler turned out to be one of the outsiders of these elections in terms of the number of votes received, despite the fact that he confidently won in the first round. Photo: https://avatars.dzeninfra.ru/get-zen_doc/271828/pub_68c7878a0883344734e84460_68c7878a0883344734e84461/scale_1200

In Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, who was running for a second term, put to shame many experts who noted that Vladimir Putin did not support the head of the region after he made working trips to the Far Eastern regions after the Anchorage summit. Just Russia removed Solodov's potentially strong opponent, Alexandra Novikova, even before registration. As a result, Malt gained 62.27% after processing 92.84% of the protocols. This is worse than his result of 80.51% in 2020, but with a turnout of 44.79% (higher than the previous one). Roman Litvinov from the Communist Party received 14.05%, Vasilina Kuliyeva from the Liberal Democratic Party — 12.24%. Political scientists attribute Solodov's success to effective work after the August earthquake, which united residents and authorities in the face of a common disaster. In the Nenets Autonomous District, Irina Gekht was elected by parliament (16 out of 17 votes), becoming the second female governor in the Russian Federation after Maria Kostyuk in the EAO.

Other results: Evgeny Pervyshov in the Tambov region — 73.84%, Vladislav Shapsha in Kaluga — 72.24%, Dmitry Makhonin in Perm Krai — 70.94%, Rostislav Goldstein in Komi — 70.04%, Sergey Sitnikov in Kostroma — 67.63%, Alexander Tsybulsky in Arkhangelsk — 67.32%, Oleg Nikolaev in Chuvashia — 67.06% Alexander Dronov in Novgorod region — 62.19%, Igor Kobzev in Irkutsk region — 60.79%. The highest turnout was observed in the EAO (73.15%), Tatarstan (66.16%) and Krasnodar Krai (65.76%).

Everything is calm in the parliaments

In addition to gubernatorial elections, deputies of legislative assemblies and regional dumas were elected in 11 regions, and city dumas were elected in 25 administrative centers. In addition, about 46,000 municipal elections were held across the country, including councils of deputies in districts, settlements and small towns. According to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, United Russia has maintained its dominance, winning the majority of seats in most parliaments, but with some variations.

The overall turnout for these elections ranged from 30% to 56%, which is lower than in the gubernatorial elections and reflects the apathy of some voters. Experts, including Yevgeny Minchenko, assess these results as a "training exercise" before the 2026 State Duma elections: the government strengthened its own vertical, but the opposition, especially the Communist Party, retained opportunities for work, and local scandals did not have a serious impact on the voting results.

In regional parliaments, United Russia was in the lead everywhere, but not always with a crushing advantage. In the Voronezh Regional Duma, the party scored 78.67%, securing almost all mandates and strengthening its position due to a high turnout (about 50%). Similarly, in the Ryazan Regional Duma — 72.93%, where the EP strengthened control over the regional budget. In the Far East, 66% in the Magadan Regional and City dumas, and 65.60% in the Yamalo—Nenets Autonomous Okrug Legislative Assembly, reflecting support in resource-rich regions. In the Kaluga region — 58.56%, the Kurgan Regional Duma — 54.91%, the Chelyabinsk Region - 54.48%, where the party barely overcame 50%, but still won the majority.

In the Kostroma Regional Duma, the result is more modest — 50.25%, and in the Komi State Council — 44.5%, which became one of the lowest indicators for the EP. In the Tomsk City Duma — 42.58%. In the Novosibirsk Region, the party won 51 out of 76 seats in the legislative assembly, winning 29 out of 38 districts, and 40 out of 50 in the Novosibirsk Council of Deputies. The Belgorod Regional Duma has 45 out of 50 mandates, with dominance in 24 out of 25 districts. In the Orenburg City Council, EP candidates took all single-mandate districts plus 12 mandates on the list.

The ER increased in the southern and central regions, where the administrative resource and the patriotic factor (against the background of the SVR) played a key role, gaining up to 70-80% in Voronezh and Ryazan. In Siberian and Ural regions like Chelyabinsk and Novosibirsk, the party weakened its position due to economic problems — inflation, delayed salaries in the public sector — and low turnout (30.26% in the Novosibirsk region). The Communist Party, as the second force, retained 15-25% in most parliaments. Especially in the "red" regions like Kostroma and Komi, where it gained up to 20%, without giving the EP a complete monopoly. The Liberal Democratic Party and Fair Russia — For Truth have weakened, not breaking the 5-7% barrier in key regions, but they are competing for second place in the all-Russian results.