Krasnodar Krai is the third-largest region in the country by number of voters. Experts classify it either as a “sultanate” region or as bordering on sultanates. The Krai is heterogeneous, and in previous years independent observation has been organised in its capital and some other cities, and sometimes even in rural areas. Public oversight made it possible to bring down the results for United Russia and especially turnout. In any case, Kuban is Russia’s “electoral breadbasket,” which has always reliably supplied the ruling party and pro-government candidates with a large number of votes.
By the number of reports of violations on the “Message Map” of the “Elections-2026 — Observing Together” project, Krasnodar Krai came in fourth place, behind only the two capitals and the Moscow region. Here are just a few examples.
At PEC No. 2059 in Krasnodar, video recordings revealed that the secretary and the chair of the commission swapped the ballots in the safe-packs overnight. After the safe-packs were annulled, the CPRF candidate received three times as many votes as the United Russia candidate. Observers also reported discrepancies between actual turnout and the number of voters on the lists, coercion of public-sector employees to vote, pressure and even arrests of observers, forgery of signatures in voter books, and many other violations.
In total, 69.47% of voters supposedly voted in Krasnodar Krai, which is 9.67% higher than the national average. At the same time, early voting was organised in 31 of 68 TECs, with 578,695 people taking part, or 22.7% of those who voted. It is even harder for observers to monitor early voting than three-day voting, and the opportunity for commissions to swap ballots in safe-packs increases many times over.
United Russia received 60.23% in Kuban, compared to 58.21% nationwide; the CPRF — 16.08% (13.47% in Russia); the LDPR — 8.09% (8.88%); New People — 7.88% (7.82%); A Just Russia — 3.58% (5.34%).
The highest turnout in the region was recorded in Kanevskoy District — 92.12%. The administrative centre of the district, the stanitsa of Kanevskaya, is incidentally the largest rural settlement in Russia — over 42,000 people. Here, signs of falsification are present not only in the turnout figures but also for United Russia, whose results were adjusted to a target of 72% — 49 out of 54 PECs gave the party of power between 70% and 73%.
The highest result for United Russia was in Tikhoretsk and Tikhoretsk District. Here it was given 78.36% and 78.21% respectively. Of the 68 precincts across two TECs, only one — PEC No. 5128 — deviates downward from the 78% target; there United Russia received 49.7%. Another four commissions have results slightly above 80%, and at precinct No. 5101 the party gets as much as 90.2%. Apparently, such figures were produced to offset the failure of commission No. 5128.
The most beautiful shelves were drawn in Temryuk and Kushchyovskoy District. In Temryuk, the task was to give United Russia 65%, the LDPR 12%, the CPRF 11%, New People 8%, and A Just Russia just 1%. On all 54 PECs, the results matched to within 0.5%. In Kushchyovskoy District, the target for the party of power was set at 73%. For the CPRF — 10%, New People — 7%, the LDPR — 6%, A Just Russia again just 1%. The variation in results across 42 precincts does not exceed 1%.
Unexpectedly, the worst result for United Russia was in the federal territory of Sirius, a small enclave in Sochi that received a unique status and federal subordination in 2020. Here United Russia got 38.17%, the CPRF — 21.33%, New People — 16.42%, the LDPR — 10.15%, and A Just Russia again did not make it into parliament — 3.7%. True, there were only six precincts in all of Sirius, for 13,910 voters.
The widest range of results was in Zapadny Okrug of Krasnodar. United Russia received 50.61%, the CPRF — 17.81%, the LDPR — 8.81%, New People — 8.14%, A Just Russia — 3.98%. United Russia’s worst result in the entire Krai was recorded here, at the already mentioned PEC No. 2059, where the safe-packs were cancelled — 9.1%. This was effectively the party of power’s result on Sunday, the last day of voting. On the other hand, at the neighbouring PEC No. 2062, United Russia received 95.6% with 100% turnout.
Incidentally, there were only six precincts in Krasnodar Krai where United Russia did not win, out of nearly three thousand commissions, and three of them, in Timashyovsky District, show signs of being rigged in favour of the CPRF.
It is also worth noting the five TECs in Sochi. They gave United Russia between 48% and 52% with turnout of 58–67%. At the presidential election just 2.5 years ago, turnout was 98%, as was the share of votes cast for Vladimir Putin. After that, the city’s mayor, Alexei Kopaigorodsky, was arrested and now faces up to 21 years in prison for receiving bribes on an especially large scale. In 2024, Kopaigorodsky had hoped that the phenomenal indicators of support for the president would help him avoid criminal prosecution. The new city leadership appears to have taken his experience into account and decided not to raise the bar for United Russia.
Separately, the city of Yeysk deserves mention. It is famous in Kuban for the fact that at one time the opposition held a majority in the city council, and United Russia’s results were always worse than in the rest of the region. Now United Russia’s figures here turned out to be sixth from the bottom — 51.64%, behind only Sirius, three TECs in Sochi, and two TECs in Krasnodar.