Online experts propose canceling gubernatorial elections in Russia.

      Following the most recent Single Voting Day, when gubernatorial elections were held in many of the Russian regions, people online proposed doing away with the procedure. The authors of the anonymous Telegram channel "Druid," which specializes in domestic politics, believe the outcomes are predictable anyway.

      According to "Druid," voter turnout, including in the Sverdlovsk region, in the elections for regional heads is low (according to "Druid," turnout in the 2022 Sverdlovsk region gubernatorial election was just over 28%).

      "All this makes you think that governors should be appointed, not elected. There is too much unnecessary spending and fuss around regional head elections," the Telegram channel writes. "Elections to parliaments and city dumas should be retained, but gubernatorial elections should be canceled."

      This, the authors of "Druid" believe, would save tens of billions of rubles. They think that in 2–3 years discussions of this decision will begin "at a more serious level."

      They were supported by colleagues from the Telegram channel "Image of the Future." "The cancellation of gubernatorial elections is practically inevitable. There are a lot of expenses for a formal procedure," the channel writes.

      Recall that turnout in the Sverdlovsk region gubernatorial election, according to the regional election commission, was at least 39.9% (in Yekaterinburg — at least 31.18%). Denis Pasler received 61.30% of the vote. On Monday, September 15, the early gubernatorial election in the Sverdlovsk region was declared valid.

      As previously reported, the Yekaterinburg mayoral election in February 2026 will already be held under a new system. Deputies of the Yekaterinburg City Duma will choose the city’s head from candidates proposed by the governor. Direct elections of city heads were abolished back in 2018.

      In the last mayoral election, held in February 2021, the candidacies of those running were reviewed by a selection committee, but Alexey Orlov predictably won; he had been appointed acting head of Yekaterinburg after a "reshuffle" with Alexander Vysokinsky.