INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
through waves of mass protests, the Covid-19 pandemic and, today, regular drone attacks amid the protracted war in Ukraine.The 65-year-old
But this requires triggers and leaders
was first appointed mayor in 2010 without an election, was nominated to run in the mayoral race by the ruling United Russia party and leads
with a 77.5% support rating, state-run pollster VTsIOM said in early September
rule took place on central Moscow's Bolotnaya Square, with some 80,000 demonstrators taking to the streets against fraud in the
independent voices over the following decade.Sergei Sobyanin accepts his nomination as United Russia's candidate during a June
politicians, activists and independent journalists have been forced into exile abroad to avoid persecution, as the invasion of Ukraine led
to a sweeping crackdown on dissent.With the opposition all but decimated, the Kremlin and Moscow City Hall have been able to quietly
register token election rivals for Sobyanin.The candidates running against him include four politicians who stand little chance of winning
Vladislav Davankov, a candidate from the pseudo-liberal, Kremlin-sanctioned New People party, even publicly admitted on the eve of the vote
well as State Duma deputy Boris Chernyshov, a representative of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party who made a name for himself by
taking part in a televised debate alone after no other candidates showed up.Sobyanin, meanwhile, did not even bother with running a
re-election campaign.Instead, he appears to have pinned his hopes on the idea that vast infrastructure projects and popular social support
years."He goes here and there endlessly, opening roads, metro stations, hospitals
have encouraged voters to cast their ballots through an online portal during the three-day voting period that ends Sunday.Putin on Saturday
incentivize Muscovites to vote electronically, the authorities are holding a raffle where residents can win gift certificates ranging in
Similar lotteries in previous years had given away apartments and cars.At the same time, authorities have tasked state-run organizations
with requiring their staff to register and participate in online voting, as confirmed by both a communal services employee and a metro
watched."Sobyanin will have no problem winning
election," the source close to the Kremlin told The Moscow Times.Next March, Putin is expected to seek re-election for a fifth overall term
in office, with reports that regional authorities have been tasked with ensuring at least 80% of the votes for the Russian leader."The
