Single voting day
Until 2004, elections in Russia were held spontaneously: at different times throughout the country. Local or regional voting took place almost every weekend, making the work of election committees much more difficult.
In October 2012, President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin established a single election day second Sunday in September. The exception is the holding of federal elections this year.
In this case, the day of election of the head of state or deputies is declared a single voting day. The timing was not chosen by chance: officials elected during this period must have time to start the process of budget formation and determine it for the coming year. The first elections under the new law were held on September 8, 2013.
Where and when will gubernatorial elections be held in 2017?
This year elections will be held in 16 regions of Russia at once. Ten governors' terms of office are expiring, and the republics of Udmurtia and Mari El, in the Kirov, Tomsk, Novgorod and Kaliningrad regions elections will be held early. In three of these six regions, previous governors were arrested and charged with criminal offenses. Of all the candidates running for direct elections, 11 are “newbies” who received positions less than a year ago.
The popular vote will take place in Belgorod, Kaliningrad, Kirov, Novgorod, Ryazan, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Tomsk, Yaroslavl regions, as well as in the republics of Buryatia, Karelia, Mordovia, Mari El, in the Perm region and in a federal city Sevastopol.
Adygea is the only region where elections will be “indirect”. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed three candidates for the position of head of the republic. The governor will be determined by parliament.
How to vote on a single voting day
In Russia, all citizens over 18 years of age have the right to vote in political elections. It is prohibited to vote for Russians who have been declared legally incompetent by a court, as well as for convicts serving sentences in prison.
Russians will be able to vote for a candidate in specially equipped polling stations. Citizens today can find out the address of their polling station or find themselves on the voter list using the online search system on the official website of the Central Election Commission.
Governor elections in Sevastopol
September 10, 2017 is a significant day for residents of Sevastopol. The city will hold its first direct gubernatorial elections. Previously, townspeople could not influence the choice of the city mayor - he was appointed from Kyiv.
There are approximately 306 thousand voters in Sevastopol. 180 polling stations will be organized for them. According to official data, about 20 thousand disabled people live in Sevastopol, of which 9 thousand have the first and second disability groups. They will be able to vote without leaving their homes.
Approximately 300 volunteers will help those who need help at polling stations: the disabled, the visually impaired, and those who cannot figure out the voting procedure themselves.
How to become a candidate for governor in direct elections in Russia
Political parties may nominate candidates for the post of governor. They may or may not be party members. A self-nominated person can also propose his candidacy.
A citizen of the Russian Federation over 30 years of age has the right to compete for the governor’s seat. One of the conditions is the absence of an outstanding or expunged criminal record.
In addition, a potential candidate is required to obtain consent to his nomination from municipal deputies in the subject of the country where he intends to work. He needs the support of 5 to 10% of deputies of representative bodies of municipalities.
22:35, 10.09.2017The results of today's elections will be known by Monday morning. This concludes our broadcast; follow the “News” section for further updates.
22:20, 10.09.2017
Medvedev: the September 10 elections were held “at a high level”
“We can testify that elections - and there were many of them on this single voting day - took place in our country and were held on high level“, the Prime Minister said at a conference call with the election headquarters of the regional branches of United Russia.
Medvedev noted that “this time the elections were not combined with the federal campaign, but in general this did not affect their quality, and in almost every region our voters showed respect for the elections and quite high activity - somewhere more, somewhere less, but everywhere the elections were held at a good level.”
22:15, 10.09.2017
Moscow. Municipal deputy from Yabloko, Evgeny Kurakin, told Novaya that in Moscow at polling station 667, in a secret room at the precinct where observers were refused entry, books of voters from past elections with sample signatures and passport data were found. After its discovery, the chairman of the Maryina Roshcha TEC tried to destroy the books and disappeared from the building. Kurakin said that a task force was waiting on the spot.
21:54, 10.09.2017
Moscow. Dmitry Gudkov said that it is already known that the headquarters candidates are leading in several polling stations in Khamovniki, Basmanny, Mitino, Pechatniki and in the Presnensky district.
“It’s too early to talk about the results, but the areas where we are ahead are already visible,” says the politician.
21:43, 10.09.2017
Political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin: a common feature of the elections is citizens’ disbelief that something can be changed
A distinctive feature of these elections was the general passivity of the population, which is convenient for the authorities and has no prospects for the country, says political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin.
Moscow. According to the expert, the low turnout strategy worked in the capital. “For Muscovites, the elections turned out to be uninteresting and unimportant,” Oreshkin said. “This does not apply to the controlled electorate (military personnel, activists, pensioners, hospital patients, etc.), whose representatives traditionally vote for the party in power and bring in about 10%.” In conditions of low turnout, these votes become decisive.
According to Oreshkin, “alternative” candidates have chances in the central districts of Moscow, in the Academic, Universitetsky and Gagarinsky districts, as well as along Leningradsky Prospekt.
Regions. Oreshkin said that home-based and early voting will bring about 5% to pro-government candidates, which is a significant percentage in conditions of low turnout. According to him, in " normal conditions“home voting - 0.5% of all voters, but in these elections the share of “home workers” will be a significant part.
21:16, 10.09.2017
A resident of Lefortovo posted a video of young people in the yard independently filling out ballots for home voting and throwing them into a portable box.
20:53, 10.09.2017Gubernatorial candidates from United Russia are leading in Buryatia, Sverdlovsk and Tomsk regions
- Alexey Tsydenov(Buryatia) - 87.73%
- Evgeniy Kuyvashev (Sverdlovsk region) - 62,02%
- Sergey Zhvachkin(Tomsk region) - 56.94%
20:47, 10.09.2017
Moscow. The head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, said that the majority of complaints about the CEC hotline came from Moscow.
“Across Moscow, 523 requests were received,” Pamfilova said. In the Moscow region -120 messages.
20:05, 10.09.2017
Polling stations in Moscow and other Russian cities have been closed. The average turnout across the country was less than 30%
20:00, 10.09.2017Yaroslavl. In municipal elections, voters were offered 200 rubles per vote. Aleksey Sovin, an activist of the “Russia Chooses” project, who works as an observer at PEC No. 162, told RBC about this.
“Voters told us that in a car parked near school No. 13, where PEC No. 162 is located, they were offering money for voting. It was around 3 p.m.,” he said.
“Information about the car from which voters were bribed was transferred to the police,” he added.
19:52, 10.09.2017
Leningrad region. An observer in Kuzmolovo wrote a statement to the police because of the minibuses that transported voters to the polling station every half hour. This happened after the man talked to a passenger on such a bus.
He asked whether voters themselves rent vehicles. The woman replied that people came to her and asked her to vote for the United Russia candidate Sergei Pavlov in the elections. Observer Svyatoslav Boynov wanted to ask the unknown woman about the details, but she, according to him, got scared and ran away. A member of the IKMO first turned to the chairman of PEC 140. There they explained to him that buses were needed to transport residents who were located just a kilometer from the site. This explanation did not suit Boynov and he turned to the 87th police station.
At another polling station, member of PEC No. 141 Petr Trofimov filmed a drunk voter who came to vote accompanied by a heavily built young man. Trofimov asked the police officer why a man in such a state was allowed to vote, to which he received an unexpected answer: a young woman with the rank of captain explained that “today is a holiday, and there is nothing like that.” She called on the PEC member to be “more positive.”
19:25, 10.09.2017
Moscow. Observers of Gudkov's headquarters report that the General Staff also votes on cameras of PEC 9 on Arbat. Headquarters employees called the CEC hotline, where they were connected to a “competent specialist in this matter.” This specialist said that there is a decision from the Moscow City Election Commission that some recordings from cameras will be of poor quality. But on hotline The Moscow Electoral Commission said that such a solution exists only where the military votes, and hung up.
19:19, 10.09.2017The Ministry of Defense reported on the high turnout of the military: they are not forced to vote
Deputy Minister of Defense Nikolai Pankov RBC that mass military voting in some areas in Moscow occurs without coercion.
“We have places where we are doomed to deliver military personnel en masse; we have no other option. Of course, there are such cases, but such cases are isolated,” he said.
Earlier, Kommersant, citing Evgeniy Khvostik, a member of the election commission in the Moscow Sokolniki district, reported that military personnel were voting en masse at polling station 1272. According to Khvostik, there was additional list from the military who “went to the same table.”
Former deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg and journalist Sergei Gulyaev published on Twitter photographs of the National Guard voting in the village of Lebyazhye at polling station 627.
19:24, 10.09.2017New information about turnout in Moscow
The turnout at the municipal elections in Moscow by 18:00 was 12%, said the head of the Moscow City Election Commission, Valentin Gorbunov.
And today five million people came to celebrate City Day in the capital.
19:11, 10.09.2017
Human rights activists ask police to check reports of “service” for drunk voters
The Association for the Protection of Electoral Rights "Civil Control" demands verification of reports that drunk voters are being brought to polling stations in the Ryazan and Irkutsk regions, RIA Novosti reports.
Co-chairman of the association Alexander Brod emphasized that if the information is confirmed “and it is established that these actions were deliberately planned by the candidates,” then human rights activists will “ask the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to review the voting results, and remove the organizers of these “carousels” from the elections.”
Earlier today, observers reported that in the city of Vikhorevka, “half-drunk” voters are being actively transported to polling stations near school No. 10.
“They settle accounts with voters with vodka. Observers spotted this particular car near the indicated areas,” writes Golos activist Nadezhda Zaitseva.
19:12, 10.09.2017Sevastopol. Members of the French Parliament Thierry Mariani and Nicolas Duic arrived to observe the elections of the city governor. They are both known for their pro-Russian views and calls for the European Union to recognize Russian jurisdiction in Crimea. French parliamentarians visited four polling stations. According to Mariani, elections in Sevastopol “are taking place under normal conditions, they are just as democratic as the others.”
Let us note that both Mariani and Duik are prohibited from entering the territory of Ukraine. Official Kyiv today announced its non-recognition of the elections taking place in Sevastopol.
18:31, 10.09.2017
The Central Election Commission has not yet identified any violations during the elections that could affect their results.
Central Election Commission press secretary Maya Grishina said that the Central Election Commission has not yet seen any violations that could affect the voting results.
“We have had many requests, they cannot be called complaints, they relate to the situation on the ground, that is, what the applicants believe, the violations that they see. Including, we received 318 written complaints on September 9-10, more than half of which were for illegal campaigning on the day of silence. With photographs and leaflets attached,” TASS quotes him as saying.
In some places, according to her, facts were revealed that required decisions by precinct and territorial commissions to recognize the ballots of early voters as invalid.
18:25, 10.09.2017
Astrakhan. Two young people doused the candidate for deputy of the Astrakhan City Duma from the party " United Russia» Alexandra Tukaeva. The incident occurred near polling station No. 235. The police are investigating.
According to Tukaev, among the attackers he recognized a representative of the headquarters of another candidate.
On the Unified Voting Day in the Astrakhan region, additional elections of deputies to the regional Duma (in one single-mandate district), the Astrakhan City Duma (in two single-mandate districts) and heads of several municipalities are held.
18:25, 10.09.2017
A criminal case has been opened in the Leningrad region for bribery of voters
In the Leningrad region, a criminal case was opened into bribery of voters at a polling station in Kuzmolovo. It was previously reported that voters were bribed under the guise of concluding agreements to organize observation at the polling station.
18:15, 10.09.2017
Elections in Vladivostok took place with low voter turnout
In the seaside capital, where elections of city council deputies took place on September 10, polling stations have already been closed and vote counting has begun. The first results will be announced on Monday, however, according to preliminary data from the city election commission, the turnout did not exceed 15%.
United Russia is in the lead (about 36%), followed by the LDPR (24%), and in third place is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (14%), but these data may still undergo serious changes as ballots are counted.
During the “early term”, facts of transportation and bribery of voters were revealed, they are now being dealt with law enforcement agencies. A number of polling stations reported that voters, when they came to vote, discovered that, according to the documents, they had allegedly already made their choice. A member of the regional election commission with the right to an advisory vote, Alexander Samsonov, spoke about the incident at polling station No. 831: during the counting of votes, an as yet unidentified man attacked the representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Olga Samsonova, snatched her phone, which she was using to film the counting process, and threw it out the window.
18:11, 10.09.2017
In Moscow's Airport district, early voting was declared invalid
Moscow. In the Airport district, early voting for municipal elections is invalid. According to the head of the Moscow City Election Commission, Valentin Gorbunov, members of the commission “mixed up the envelopes for some of the polling stations.”
18:02, 10.09.2017
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation accused the United Russia candidate of bribing voters
Novosibirsk region. The Novosibirsk branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation published on its website audio recordings of conversations with people who offered to vote for the candidate for the Legislative Assembly from United Russia, Alexander Boyko, for 250 rubles.
An employee of the headquarters of the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Sergei Klestov called one of the phone numbers of the “buyers” of votes and received instructions on exactly how to proceed to receive the reward.
The buyers demonstrated the agitator's agreement concluded with Alexander Boyko, but, noticing that they were being filmed, they left.
17:55, 10.09.2017Moscow. Open Russia activist Mikhail Konev said that while he was at the territorial election commission of the Donskoy district of Moscow, unknown persons punctured the tires of his car.
17:50, 10.09.2017Sevastopol. Observers from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation were removed from polling stations No. 132 and No. 134 in the Leninsky district of the city.
As they told " Novaya Gazeta"at the Communist election headquarters, an observer from the party was removed from polling station No. 132 for filing a complaint against the chairman of the election commission, Nelly Degtyar.
“According to information from our observer, Degtyar went with voters to a separate room, after which they went to the ballot boxes.” Nelly Degtyar herself, in a conversation with a correspondent, said that the observer was removed by a court decision for conducting video recording, including for filming documents with personal data of voters.
At polling station No. 134, an observer from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was also removed due to photographing voter lists. The head of the working group “For Fair Elections” Anatoly Lavrik spoke about this. According to him, the violation on the part of the communist observer was officially recorded, and therefore he will be taken to court.
17:32, 10.09.2017
Yabloko demanded the resignation of the head of the Moscow City Election Commission
The party demands the resignation of the Chairman of the Moscow City Election Commission, Valentin Gorbunov, for deliberately reducing turnout in the elections in Moscow.
“For the first time in the history of the election campaign in Moscow, voters did not receive any official information about elections. The CEC took care of this a few days before the elections, but it was too late. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin bears political responsibility for the deliberate decrease in turnout, and organizational responsibility lies with IPCC Chairman Valentin Gorbunov. He must resign,” said party deputy chairman Nikolai Rybakov.
17:15, 10.09.2017
The Omsk Election Commission warned about the impending “mass stuffing of ballots”
The chairman of the city election commission, Ivan Khodokov, made an emergency statement. He was prompted to address the public by an anonymous telephone call, about which he also informed higher-level election commissions:
“We have now received an alarming call that a mass stuffing of ballots at polling stations is being prepared. We don't know how to react to this. Maybe this is a joke, maybe a prepared action, maybe a PR stunt to increase turnout in the elections. We informed the CEC that we had received such information. A letter is being prepared that will be sent to precinct election commissions asking them to be extremely careful. I would like to appeal to the observers and political parties be extremely careful. I would like to remind you that this is not only administrative, but also criminal liability. I will be very glad if this is someone's joke, it will not be confirmed. But we cannot help but respond to this information,” he said.
The head of the city election commission did not explain how an anonymous call can increase turnout at elections if, for example, one does not publicly respond to it: he initiated this “PR” (if it is PR) himself.
17:03, 10.09.2017
The candidate for municipal deputy who “bite” members of the PEC spoke about the conflict. He tried to prevent falsifications
Moscow. Vladimir Egorov, a registered candidate from Yabloko for the Council of Deputies of the Dorogomilovo municipal district, said that he tried to prevent election fraud and did not bite anyone.
According to him, individual PEC members wrote down the serial numbers of those who voted according to the list of voters on special sheets in order to control voting for the parties in power among public sector workers.
“When I started photographing the second sheet (with the list with the numbers of voters who voted - approx.), a member of the commission tried to snatch the sheet from me and tore it. I asked to call an operational investigation team to suppress falsifications. But another member of the commission tried to snatch the sheet with the list of voters from me, I grabbed her hand, and she complained that I allegedly bit her,” Egorov told RBC.
Earlier, the head of the Moscow Electoral Commission, Valentin Gorbunov, said that Yabloko bit and beat members of the PEC, for which he was removed from the polling station.
16:56, 10.09.20178.48% of Muscovites came to the elections in Moscow
16:50, 10.09.2017Sevastopol. 100% of voters voted on ships of the Black Sea Fleet. This was announced by Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Yuri Orekhovsky. We are talking about the frigate "Admiral Essen" and the hydrographic vessel "Equator", which are now in the distant waters of the Black Sea.
According to the Sevastopol City Electoral Commission, voting ballots on ships were prepared by members of election commissions working on them independently, according to layouts transmitted to the ships via technical communication channels.
A high turnout, 95%, was also noted at the Nakhimov School. Among civilian population turnout in Sevastopol is 25.3%.
16:33, 10.09.2017
The head of the Moscow Electoral Commission explained the failure of the information campaign for municipal elections
Moscow. The head of the Moscow Electoral Commission, Valentin Gorbunov, said that SMS notifications about the upcoming elections may not have arrived to Muscovites due to the fact that their phones may be registered to other people, for example, to children.
At the same time, according to him, in total more than 2.5 million SMS alerts were sent, although “there are more than 11 million Muscovites.”
“It’s hard for me to talk now. After the elections we will sort it out,” Gorbunov added.
Earlier, the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, announced the failure of the information campaign for municipal elections.
16:31, 10.09.2017
In Perm, for the sake of attendance, they give out movie tickets, conduct excursions and parent meetings
In Perm, some polling stations offer excursions to vote. At a public transport stop near the Kamkabel enterprise there is a group of elderly people. When asked why they had gathered, they answered that they were about to go on an “Orthodoxy” tour of the churches of Perm. People are waiting for a special bus. According to them, four more such buses, for fifty people each, will pick up cable workers from other places.
“Well, like an excursion,” clarifies one participant. “First we’ll vote, and then we’ll have a tour.”
The organizer introduced herself as Galina Bobrova, an inspector for social work Perm enterprise "Kamkabel". According to her, such events take place every week. In her hands she has a pile of papers, on one of the sheets there is a column with school numbers. All these educational institutions have polling stations.
According to the Perm Observer group, Kamkabel today ordered 34 excursions from one of the local travel agencies. Additional buses and guides were sought from other companies.
Also, in one Perm school, primary school students were prescribed diagnostic testing in the morning, which they had to come to with their parents. IN educational institution In the village of Ust-Kachka, Perm region, parent meetings were held in different classes. They invited us to them with entries in diaries, in which they told us to take our passports with us. As eyewitnesses say, after meetings, mothers and fathers were called to the ballot boxes.
In addition, at all Perm polling stations, those under 35 are given flyers that can be exchanged for movie tickets.
16:09, 10.09.2017
Candidates from United Russia are leading in Sevastopol
Sevastopol. The secretary of the city branch of United Russia, Boris Kolesnikov, during a speech at the media center “Election of the Governor of Sevastopol 2017” said that, according to his information, representatives of the ruling party are leading in the elections. “According to data from our observers, representatives of our party are confidently in the lead,” he said. How exactly United Russia observers learned about the leadership of their candidates, Kolesnikov did not specify.
United Russia nominated the current acting head of the city, Dmitry Ovsyannikov, as a candidate for the post of governor of Sevastopol. The head of the Sevastopol branch of Moscow State University, Ivan Kusov, is running for by-elections to the Legislative Assembly from United Russia.
15:54, 10.09.2017
Sverdlovsk region. In Pervouralsk, candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vokhmyakov accused his opponent from the “Patriots of Russia” of bribing voters and filed a police report against him. He claims that his competitor was distributing Nordic walking sticks to local residents.
“They called me and said that Dmitry Andreevsky was giving away some prizes. I understand that this is being done as part of his project “Pervouralsk - City of Champions,” but a fact is a fact,” Vokhmyakov said.
Andreevsky himself told the local publication Gorodskie Vesti that he provides equipment for Nordic walking only for the duration of the training under the supervision of a trainer, and after its completion, voters return the poles.
Photo: portal 
15:32, 10.09.2017
A self-nominated deputy in Nizhny Tagil was attacked with a tire iron
Nizhny Tagil. Nizhny Tagil City Duma candidate Vyacheslav Goryachkin was attacked by a Gazelle driver who was illegally delivering campaign materials for his competitor, United Russia member Igor Temnov, on election day. Self-nominated candidate Goryachkin approached the bus and two Gazelles, trying to find out by what right they were engaged in illegal campaigning; the driver of one of the Gazelles took out the agreement concluded with Temnov “On the placement of propaganda materials.” But, frightened by the approaching police, the driver jumped into the car and drove away. Goryachkin rushed in pursuit. I caught up with him in the private sector of the city - then the driver came out with a tire iron and began throwing stones at Goryachkin’s car with varying degrees of success. The candidate for deputy filed a statement with the police, and the driver was detained.
Independent candidate Goryachkin, employee of the Nizhny Tagil Metal Structures Plant. Supported by United Russia, Temnov runs the Tagil Tram enterprise. At the moment, Temnov accused Goryachkin himself of illegal campaigning.
14:59, 10.09.2017
“They’ll come again, it’s not evening yet.” Vladimir Putin voted in municipal elections
Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin voted at polling station number 2151 in Moscow, which is located in the building Russian Academy Sci. Just the day before, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had not yet made a decision whether he would go to the polls or not.
In this area, you can choose from one to three deputies from 18 candidates. In addition to three self-nominated candidates, the list of candidates includes representatives of United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Yabloko party, Rodina, A Just Russia and the Growth Party.
The president told reporters that he studied the candidates' biographies before voting, but that he "didn't really follow" the progress of the election campaign.
“The choice was deliberate,” Putin said, but did not say for whom he cast his vote, noting that “this is secret information.”
Putin also drew attention to the fact that the turnout at the polling station was low, but there were a lot of media representatives, which “is also not bad, the interest of the press in municipal elections is also important,” and residents “will come again, it’s not evening yet.”
14:40, 10.09.201715 thousand people voted early in the elections to the Omsk City Council. The KPFR is confident that this was done under duress
“In the elections to the Omsk City Council, the authorities relied on early voting,” State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Alexander Kravets said at a press conference the day before. According to the regional party committee, many doctors, teachers, government and municipal employees, firefighters and other public sector workers, such as archives, voted forcibly.
“We received messages every day,” regional committee secretary Andrei Alekhin told Novaya, “that state employees were forced to take photographs of ballots with a check mark on their phones. in the right place and then present them to the authorities.”
The Territorial Election Commission for the Soviet District, according to Alekhine, introduced a new interpretation of Article 17 of the Federal Law “On the Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights of Citizens of the Russian Federation,” where we're talking about on the procedure for holding elections in places of temporary residence. “Such places include prisons, hospitals, and the TEC equated CHPP - 3, CHPP - 4, TGK - 11, GC Titan (a group of companies producing synthetic rubber, phenol, engaged in biotechnology) to them. This means that either the workers of these enterprises will be brought by bus to polling stations, or members of election commissions will come there with ballot boxes.
In total, according to Andrei Alekhin, 15 thousand people voted early in Omsk. The city election commission reports that 2.5% of voters fulfilled their civic duty before Election Day.
14:33, 10.09.2017
Sverdlovsk region. The Center for Public Observation received a call from a polling station in the Vtorchermet district, on Fergana, 22, that they were allegedly distributing free pies on behalf of the gubernatorial candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Alexei Parfenov. The visit of election commission specialists established that this candidate did not agitate anyone with pies, and illegal trade was not carried out.
And another story with pies, but in Yaroslavl: Polling station buffets are seriously competing for the most delicious pies. The hashtag #buffetbattle has appeared online, using which users post photos of baked goods.
14:20, 10.09.2017Moscow is concerned about the abnormal number of people voting at home
Moscow. Dmitry Gudkov on his Facebook page
Will early elections of the President of Russia take place in 2017? Possible reasons transfer and last news about who can replace Putin.
The official date for the next presidential elections in Russia, according to federal law, - March 11, 2018 (No. 19-FZ dated January 10, 2003) Why do many of Russian political scientists Are they actively discussing the possibility of holding an early election campaign? Is such a development possible without the introduction of state of emergency, impeachment or voluntary resignation of the current head of the country?
The only logical questions that arise are the reasons for such a rush: what and to whom will the postponement of elections benefit, does the current leadership need it, or can the postponement be associated with radical changes in power - revolution, regime change, etc.? Observers' opinions vary dramatically. Someone talks about the inevitable and natural collapse current system against the background of the constantly worsening economic situation in Russia, marking the hour X - the end of 2017. To some, talk about postponing the presidential elections in the Russian Federation seems far-fetched. Finally, there are those who directly speak about the need to re-elect the current head of state, simultaneously pointing out the need to do this as quickly as possible. Will Russian presidential elections take place in 2017? What are the forecasts regarding the date of postponing the elections, and what is the likelihood that the current head of state will decide to give the reins of government to other hands?
On the reasons for postponing the presidential elections
The idea to postpone the presidential elections in the Russian Federation to 2017 did not arise by chance. Many say that the country is approaching a point beyond which only serious reforms can take place. Oppositionists, who have long advocated for a change in the head of state, and even officials in given time in the highest offices. This does not mean that some government officials suddenly began to consider themselves freethinkers, since they immediately give an explanation: only early elections will help stabilize the situation and allow them to calmly begin reforms. 
At the same time, the press secretary of the current head of the country, D. Peskov, claims that the issue of postponing the elections has never been and is not on the agenda today. On the other hand, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation received funds from the country’s budget for 2017 to organize the election campaign. (Although why can’t the CEC prepare for elections in advance?) Here we can also recall the recommendations of Alexei Kudrin, the former Minister of Finance, about whom V.V. Putin has always had a very high opinion of him, which he made back in 2015. Then he directly said that it would be preferable for the country’s economy and for the future reform program if the presidential elections were postponed a year earlier.
Will Putin run for president?
This question is of interest to both those who are confident that the elections will be postponed to 2017, and those who are skeptical about such rumors. One way or another, Putin has (virtually) been in power since 1999. After all, in Last year During his work, Yeltsin was very ill and did not actually make government decisions, and in the period 2008-2012, according to many political scientists, the country was led by a technical or interim President Medvedev. Yes, 18 years is a long time, which, firstly, can be considered unusual phenomenon for democracy; and secondly, it may well become a reason for retirement, i.e. non-participation in elections.
Journalists’ questions to Putin regarding participation in future elections in 2017 or 2018 usually do not receive an answer: I haven’t decided, Time will tell, etc. It is almost impossible to get a specific answer from an experienced politician in such situations. Political strategists have long developed universal forms of reaction to such questions: If the public asks, I’ll go, If I see that I’m handing over the reins of power to reliable hands, I’ll leave. Will Putin run for president? Obviously, he will make the decision himself.
Who will take Putin's place?
A popular question for any modern Russian citizen: if not Putin, then who? The implication of such a question is obvious and can only mean that there is no person on the political field of the country who could compete with the current head of the country in popularity and authority. And yet, experts are forced to sift through possible candidates who will either have to replace Putin during his voluntary departure, or play the role of his opponents during the 2017-2018 election campaign. Today the following names are called:
- Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu - current minister Russian defense;
- Alexey Gennadievich Dyumin – governor of the Tula region;
- Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is currently the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on environmental issues, ecology and transport.
Surely, in the next elections we will see such familiar to all Russians statesmen, as Zhirinovsky V.V., Zyuganov G.A., Mironov S.M. Perhaps representatives of the opposition will also join them: Navalny A.A., Kasyanov M.M. or others
Whether the above-mentioned political figures will form the opposition in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation and when this happens, time will tell.
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A “political Uber” took place in Moscow, and stability came to the regions.
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In Russia, on September 10, 82 regions held the last elections before the 2018 presidential campaign. The single voting day was remembered, first of all, for the unexpected results of the opposition in Moscow and the massive victory of government candidates in a number of regions.
Municipal elections in Moscow
In 125 districts of Moscow, 1,502 municipal deputies were elected. Turnout 14-15%. Opposition candidates drew attention to the lack of pro-government campaigning on the streets and in district newspapers, the federal authorities reported to the capital's commissions, and only a third of voters sent SMS messages about the upcoming elections.
United Russia candidates can receive 76-77% - this is about 1150 mandates, the Yabloko party will receive 11.7% - this is about 176-177 instead of the previous 25 in the last elections. In third place are self-nominated candidates - 7.2%.
Valentin Gorbunov
Head of the Moscow City Election Commission
The final results have not yet been summed up, but according to preliminary data, the democratic opposition received 250 seats out of 1,502. These are self-nominated candidates and candidates from Yabloko, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation or Parnassus, who were supported by former State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov.
Yabloko itself received 180 candidates in 51 constituencies and a majority in six of them. Solidarity took the majority of mandates in one district; the current government lost its advantage in 15 districts.
As you know, the election process in Russia has been streamlined for several years. If in the first years of the existence of post-Soviet Russia elections were the most different levels took place when it was convenient to hold them in a particular city or region, and almost every week some kind of voting took place somewhere, then since 2004 they decided to put things in order, and all elections, except for the presidential elections and elections V State Duma take place in September.
This is also convenient from the point of view of optimizing financial expenses in the Central Election Commission. Elections in September 2017 in Russia: who we elect and in which regions of the country.
So, the 2017 elections in Russia will be held in several regions of the country. At the moment, we know about the elections of 17 heads of regions, six regional parliaments and one by-election to the State Duma.
Let's start with the by-elections to the State Duma. In 2016, the candidate from the United Russia party, chairman of the previous convocation of the Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, won in the Kingisepp single-mandate electoral district of the Leningrad region. However, literally within one month after those elections, Naryshkin was appointed director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, and one seat in the State Duma was vacant. It will remain this way until the results of the September by-elections in Kingisepp are summed up.
Also, the country must change or be re-elected to new term at least 17 heads of subjects. These include governors and heads of republics in the following regions of the country:
- Adygea
- Belgorod region
- Buryatia
- Kaliningrad region
- Karelia
- Kirov region
- Republic of Mari El
- Mordovia
- Novgorod region
- Perm region
- Ryazan region
- Saratov region
- Sverdlovsk region
- Sevastopol
- Tomsk region
- Udmurt Republic
- Yaroslavl region
At the same time, a curious situation has developed in Adygea, since this is the only region from the presented list where there will be no popular vote on the candidacy of the head of the republic. The local parliament abolished the popular election of the head in 2016, and in Adygea elections will be held as they were for several years in the 2000s: the head will be chosen by the parliament based on three candidates that the president of the country will present to them.
Obviously, the list can be replenished with some other regions. Even before April 4, 2017, nothing foreshadowed elections in Udmurtia, however, the local head of the republic, A. Solovyov, was suddenly arrested and accused of taking a bribe. The president removed him from office, and Udmurtia faces elections in September. On April 13, a similar story happened in the Mari-El Republic.
Also speaking about the elections in September 2017 in Russia and about who we elect this year, it is worth not forgetting about the elections that will take place in six regions where the elected new line-up regional parliaments:
- Krasnodar region
- Penza region
- Saratov region
- Sakhalin region
- North Ossetia
- Udmurtia
As we see, the Saratov region and Udmurtia will have to completely re-elect all local authorities: both the head of the region and the local parliament.
