Support The Moscow Times!

Regional Leaders Secretly Campaign Ahead of Elections Says Monitor

Vedyaskin Sergei / Moskva News Agency

Acting Russian governors are secretly campaigning and using state funds ahead of elections this weekend, business outlet RBC reported Tuesday, citing a report by election monitoring group Golos.

Voters in 16 Russian regions go to the polls on Sunday to elect their governors. Several other regions and Moscow will also hold local legislative and city council elections that day. Ahead of the vote, acting governors in seven regions have been receiving extensive local media coverage that portrays them in a positive light and “is in fact free PR,” RBC reported, citing Golos.

The acting governors from the republic of Marii-El, republic of Udmurtia, and the Kirov, Ryazan, Saratov, Novgorod and Kaliningrad regions are named as benefitting from positive media stories. In addition to the seven gubernatorial candidates, the report highlights potential campaign law violations by candidates standing in local legislative elections.

Such expansive media coverage constitutes election campaigning and “seriously discredits” voting as an institution, argues Golos regional network coordinator Vitaly Averin.

While media campaigning is cited as the most common violation of federal election law, acting governors also benefit from the use of state and municipal property, according to Averin, RBC reports. However, such violations are impossible to prove, Averin emphasizes.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more