The 2020 Regional Elections in Russia: A Rehearsal for the 2021 Duma Elections

Abstract

The September 2020 regional elections in Russia employed a new three-day voting scheme. This change, along with biased electoral rules, helped the Kremlin to maintain control over all gubernatorial offices, as well as - via United Russia - over all regional parliaments and a majority of city councils in regional capitals. At the same time, Alexei Navalny's "smart vote" initiative was effective in big cities. Multi-day voting will once again be used in the Duma elections next year, but there the Kremlin’s landslide victory is in jeopardy due to United Russia's declining popularity among voters and the ability of the candidates backed by the "smart vote2 campaign to defeat UR nominees in a number of single-member districts.