No. 156: Russian Local Elections

Author(s): Aleksandr Kynev, J. Paul Goode
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 156
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2014

This edition considers regional politics. Firstly, Aleksandr Kynev assesses the Regional Elections held in September. He argues that a series of measures were introduced before the elections to weaken the institutional influence of new parties, reflecting the new political and economic landscape in post-Crimea Russia. Secondly, Paul Goode addresses the attempted protest march in August calling for greater regional autonomy in Siberia, and how events in Ukraine were presented as inspiring this move. He concludes that the Kremlins strong response to this march reveals their fear of decentralizing power, the weak ties between central and regional opposition, and the boomerang effect of Russias intervention in Eastern Ukraine.

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