MOSCOW—Candidates loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin swept regional and local elections over the weekend, demonstrating the Kremlin’s grip on the levers of power despite pockets of support for Alexei Navalny’s opposition movement after an attempt on his life sidelined him last month. Preliminary results published by state news agencies Monday showed broad support for the pro-Putin United Russia party. “There was almost no hope for new (political) forces.”The contests serve as a bellwether for Russian politics ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. Opposition candidates did, however, win important symbolic victories. State agencies didn’t provide names of individual winners.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 14, 2020 18:11 UTC