Start of the Big Game
With the last regional elections ahead of the national parliamentary elections taking place in September 2015, a 2016 campaign is almost underway. A changed voting system, a five-year gap after the last Duma election and other factors make next year's election a decisive moment requiring great effort from the ruling elite. Due to a switch to the mixed voting system, it is expected that there will be a significant rotation in the parliament in 2016.
Several heads of federal entities chose to resign early to be reappointed as acting governors by the President to get a scheduling advantage and presidential support ahead of the September 2015 regional elections on a united elections day. The opposition has also started campaigning, despite limited chances for success, to increase voters' awareness ahead of the 2016 national elections.
An increasing number of non-governmental organizations are being labeled foreign agents, which prohibits them from a large number of activities that can be defined as political. Another law was adopted that creates an "undesired organization" status, allowing criminal prosecution for connections with an organization so labeled by the Prosecutor General.
President Putin is being increasingly compared to Prince Vladimir, one of the key people in early Russian history responsible for bringing the country to Christianity. That is a shift from comparison with early 20th-century Prime Minister Stolypin, who was believed to be a successful economic manager. The shift is being used to switch public attention from the economic to the geopolitical results of Putin's presidential tenure.
Salary size and commuting convenience remain key factors for Russians in their job selection. Professional development opportunities and public approval are less important, which may be one of the reasons there is not much mobility in the labor market.
Now read on...
Register to sample a report