MOSCOW, Sept 7 — Russians are set to vote in local and regional elections tomorrow.

Here are five things to watch during the elections that will take place in each of the country’s 85 regions, including gubernatorial, mayoral and legislative polls.

How the Kremlin fares

Russian voters, battling rising poverty under Western sanctions and a controversial pension reform, have been increasingly willing to punish representatives of the ruling party United Russia.

Many Kremlin-friendly candidates are disguising themselves as independents in a bid to distance themselves from the ruling party whose brand is now widely seen as a liability.

Six of 16 candidates running for election or re-election as governors have campaigned as independents.

Political analysts say the elections will be a key test of the authorities’ ability to stage-manage polls after a major slump in the approval ratings of Vladimir Putin and United Russia.

Second-round risks

Observers do not rule out that members of the ruling party will not be able to win gubernatorial elections in the first round in some regions.

Last year, the Kremlin suffered election blows in four regions where candidates backed by the United Russia ruling party failed to win in the first round.

In the Far Eastern region of Primorsky Krai, claims of irregularities in favour of a Kremlin-backed candidate forced officials to hold a rare re-run of the vote in 2018.

‘Smart voting’

The Moscow parliament election will be a test of top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s ability to mobilise the opposition ahead of parliamentary elections in 2021 and following a major police crackdown in the summer.

Popular opposition candidates have been barred from running in the Moscow election and Navalny urged Muscovites to support those who have the highest chances of beating pro-Kremlin candidates.

Most of them are Communists. Navalny has also urged residents of other cities to vote strategically.

To encourage Russians to follow his lead, Navalny’s team has in recent days churned out daily investigations accusing prominent officials of corruption.

Saint Petersburg vote

The unpopular acting governor Alexander Beglov, who is a long-time acquaintance of President Vladimir Putin, is expected to sail to victory in the absence of meaningful competition.

But the extent of his victory remains unclear and opposition has claimed that authorities are preparing to rig the vote in Russia’s second city.

Opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported this week that some election officials in Putin’s hometown had been trained to enter fraudulent votes into ballot boxes "at the last minute”.

Beglov’s strongest competitor, the Soviet-era director and Communist lawmaker Vladimir Bortko, suddenly quit the race a week before the vote.

Khabarovsk region

The Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk is where United Russia has fought one of its most bruising campaigns this year.

The region on the border with China will see a number of elections, including to the regional parliament and city legislatures as well as a mayoral vote.

The Khabarovsk governor, Sergei Furgal, of the nationalist LDPR party, came to power in a high-profile win last year, securing 70 per cent of the vote against incumbent Vyacheslav Shport.

Furgal, 49, has become a popular regional leader, publicly dressing down bureaucrats and amassing 161,000 followers on Instagram.

Many local residents are prepared to support the LDPR which they now associate with Furgal rather than its longtime controversial firebrand leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Following Furgal’s victory last year United Russia has become a de-facto opposition party in the region. — AFP