Russians are scheduled to vote on September 19. They will be deciding electoral races not only to the State Duma (lower chamber of the national parliament) but also to 39 regional legislative assemblies, that is, in almost half of the federation’s subjects. In a genuine federation, regional elections might be considered the main event of this day. But in de facto centralized Russia, no real federative diversity can be expected from these contests, which is why voters do not attach much importance to their outcome. The regional parliaments in Russia are empowered to decide almost nothing—unlike the German Landtags or the legislatures of the American states. Russian regional parliaments usually have only 30–40 deputies, who lack the opportunity to pass any significant laws that differ from those in the other regions, since the legislative system in Russia is unified.
This demand for freedom for Navalny was expressed by the leader of the Russian Party of Freedom and Justice (PFJ), Maxim Shevchenko. This new faction sometimes makes liberal statements to boost its popularity, but it remains quite safe from coming under threat of removal from the elections, since its platform is actually quite close to that of the ruling United Russia. In August, in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, Shevchenko participated in a roundtable on the topic of federalism. His party is trying to win over public figures in the non-Russian republics to its side, but the PFJ’s particular interpretation of federalism effectively excludes any treaty relations between the regions. Shevchenko states that the main principle of the federation is a ban on withdrawal from it (Business-gazeta.ru, August 30).
In early 2021, a group of politicians and public figures from various regions tried to register the Federative Party, which declared in favor of the principles of inter-regional treaties and of political decentralization in Russia (Svoboda.org, May 7). They hoped to take part in the Duma elections. However, their party was not allowed to register, and its leader, a deputy from Lipetsk, Oleg Khomutinnikov, was forced to leave Russia under threat of criminal prosecution.
In the run-up to this year’s Russian elections, there has been a “cleansing” of the political space from all candidates still declaring any oppositional views to the Kremlin. Therefore, the idea of boycotting the elections is becoming more and more popular among part of the electorate. But on the other hand, many candidates in the regions are trying to look as loyal as possible so that they are not removed from the elections; and if they manage to win, some of them may gradually begin to pursue an independent policy. Indeed, before the 2018 elections, the aforementioned Sergei Furgal did not call himself an oppositionist; yet after he won, he began to actively defend the interests of his region, and his popularity quickly exceeded Putin’s. It is quite possible that such a situation could again be repeated—perhaps in multiple instances—after these elections.
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