Moscow on Sunday will hold its first mayoral vote since Russia abolished popular elections of its regional leaders in 2004. The opposition has no chance of dethroning the Kremlin-appointed incumbent, but the vote’s outcome – including a possible runoff – will reveal a lot about the state of the protest movement in the capital.
RIA Novosti presents the six men who are squaring off in the race to rule the city of 12 million. (Candidates are listed in order of their pre-vote polling results.)
Moscow on Sunday will hold its first mayoral vote since Russia abolished popular elections of its regional leaders in 2004. The opposition has no chance of dethroning the Kremlin-appointed incumbent, but the vote’s outcome – including a possible runoff – will reveal a lot about the state of the protest movement in the capital.
RIA Novosti presents the six men who are squaring off in the race to rule the city of 12 million. (Candidates are listed in order of their pre-vote polling results.)
Photo: The Moscow City Hall.
RIA Novosti presents the six men who are squaring off in the race to rule the city of 12 million. (Candidates are listed in order of their pre-vote polling results.)
Photo: The Moscow City Hall.
Sergei Sobyanin, acting mayor:
Siberian native Sobyanin, 55, had worked in the Kremlin since 2005 before being appointed Moscow mayor in 2010. He resigned in June, saying he needed popular approval.
Critics accuse him of misspending city money – a typical accusation for Moscow mayors – while supporters praise him as a “solid manager” who is improving the city’s parks, highways and playgrounds.
Siberian native Sobyanin, 55, had worked in the Kremlin since 2005 before being appointed Moscow mayor in 2010. He resigned in June, saying he needed popular approval.
Critics accuse him of misspending city money – a typical accusation for Moscow mayors – while supporters praise him as a “solid manager” who is improving the city’s parks, highways and playgrounds.
Alexei Navalny, the thorn in the Kremlin’s side:
A 37-year-old lawyer and blogger, Navalny has delivered glaring anti-corruption exposés and fought criminal cases to become the face of the Russian protest movement.
Navalny is Sobyanin’s main challenger and says the Moscow vote is really an ideological choice between the Kremlin and the opposition, not a practical selection of the best city manager. His critics say that is precisely the problem.
A 37-year-old lawyer and blogger, Navalny has delivered glaring anti-corruption exposés and fought criminal cases to become the face of the Russian protest movement.
Navalny is Sobyanin’s main challenger and says the Moscow vote is really an ideological choice between the Kremlin and the opposition, not a practical selection of the best city manager. His critics say that is precisely the problem.
Ivan Melnikov, the Communist professor:
A 63-year-old math professor from Moscow State University, Melnikov is the Communist Party’s No. 2 man. He is as respectable as a politician could be, but many voters are skeptical of the Communists, who have long been post-Soviet Russia’s top opposition force but have failed to take power and deliver any change for two decades.
A 63-year-old math professor from Moscow State University, Melnikov is the Communist Party’s No. 2 man. He is as respectable as a politician could be, but many voters are skeptical of the Communists, who have long been post-Soviet Russia’s top opposition force but have failed to take power and deliver any change for two decades.
Sergei Mitrokhin, the eternal outsider:
Mitrokhin, 50, heads Yabloko, a social-democratic party with a crystal-clear reputation and a history of electoral failures. Yabloko has been a refuge for liberal-minded opposition for quite some time, but now Navalny offers the same platform with a prospect of success.
Mitrokhin, 50, heads Yabloko, a social-democratic party with a crystal-clear reputation and a history of electoral failures. Yabloko has been a refuge for liberal-minded opposition for quite some time, but now Navalny offers the same platform with a prospect of success.
Nikolai Levichev, the harasser:
A nondescript functionary from the pro-Kremlin A Just Russia, Levichev, 60, has gone all-out in the run-up to the election. His campaign materials have featured apparent racist slurs, and he has harassed rivals, especially Navalny, including by leading police on a raid of a grassroots Navalny campaign office in a Moscow apartment. However, in the meantime, Levichev has largely neglected to explain why to vote for him.
A nondescript functionary from the pro-Kremlin A Just Russia, Levichev, 60, has gone all-out in the run-up to the election. His campaign materials have featured apparent racist slurs, and he has harassed rivals, especially Navalny, including by leading police on a raid of a grassroots Navalny campaign office in a Moscow apartment. However, in the meantime, Levichev has largely neglected to explain why to vote for him.
Mikhail Degtyaryov, the populist:
The real ambition of Degtyaryov, 32, is not to rule Moscow but to become a worthy heir to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russia’s uber-populist parliamentary vice speaker and the head of the nationalist Liberal-Democratic Party. Last month, the duo held a meeting with voters in a banya (a Russian steam bath), bare-chested and wrapped in towels – which is all that really needs to be said about Degtyaryov’s campaign.
The real ambition of Degtyaryov, 32, is not to rule Moscow but to become a worthy heir to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russia’s uber-populist parliamentary vice speaker and the head of the nationalist Liberal-Democratic Party. Last month, the duo held a meeting with voters in a banya (a Russian steam bath), bare-chested and wrapped in towels – which is all that really needs to be said about Degtyaryov’s campaign.
