In 41 regions, Russian voters vote for governors and regional assemblies, while four regions also hold by-elections to the federal parliament.
The election comes at a time when protests against the arrest of the popular governor of the Khabarovsk region, Sergei Furgal, continue in Russia’s Far East. Newbie, but the economic crisis has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The previous vote begins on Friday, but the main election day will be Sunday.
Officials have decided to hold the election for three days to reduce crowds and the risk of the coronavirus spreading, but Kremlin critics say the model was chosen to make it easier to falsify the results.
Regional elections are generally unattractive and many voters expect the ruling party to continue to dominate the country’s political life. United Russia.
Some, however, are hoping for a change, given that the opposition movement that challenged the Kremlin’s election machine has become safer.
Navalny was poisoned while he was visiting Siberia, where a politician was investigating allegations of corruption and promoting a so-called smart voting system before the regional elections.
The 44-year-old politician investigated corruption in the Tomsk and Novosibirsk elites, and expressed support for opposition candidates in those cities.
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