The 2025 gubernatorial elections in practically all regions turned out to be an imitation rather than an attempt to ascertain the genuine will of the people. This is evidenced by the absence of real competition in most regions. Yet there is still hope for a contest — in two regions, Arkhangelsk Oblast and Irkutsk Oblast, strong opponents of the incumbent heads have been registered.
These are the conclusions reached by independent experts of the “Atlas of Elections” project. They studied how the gubernatorial election campaigns are proceeding at the nomination and candidate registration stage.
Key findings:
There are ever fewer contenders for the post of head of a region — compared to 2020, the average number of nominated candidates has fallen by almost 20%. The reason is the municipal filter and the reduction in the number of registered political parties.
One in three contenders for a gubernatorial post did not make it to registration. This figure was reached on account of 19 self-nominees, of whom only the head of Chuvashia was registered — and it does not appear that any of those who dropped out actually planned to take part in the elections. In half of the regions, however, everyone who was nominated was registered, meaning they had been agreed upon from the outset.
As opponents to the incumbent heads of regions, the leading political parties fielded people who cannot realistically contend for victory, or else declined to nominate their own candidate at all.
On the single voting day of 14 September 2025, elections for the heads of 20 regions will be held. Details on each election campaign can be viewed in the Index of (un)freedom of gubernatorial elections — 2025, prepared by the project’s experts.