Page 11 - RUSRptOct18

rate increase and retirement age hike had reportedly had Kremlin worried on the results of the regional elections for its United Russia party .
Most recently Putin intervened trying to calm public opinion on the pension reform/retirement age, while watchdogs and state election committee pressed Google and its YouTube service to not allow promotion of content calling on people to take to the streets in the run-up to the election.
According to Vedomosti day, regional authorities did not allow meetings and demonstrations on the election day in 59 out of 71 Russian cities, coupled with preventive detentions of about 300 activists mostly associated with the camp of opposition leader Alexei Navalny .
Navalny rose to prominence from being an anti-corruption blogger to a visible opposition contended in 2013 Moscow mayoral elections, when his grassroots campaign brought 27% of the votes and made him second to Sobyanin. Five years later in 2018 Sobyanin's ratings ahead of the elections were way out of reach of any visible opposition .
In the regional elections, however, the United Russia party could face difficulties in several territories. The party could lose majority in the Irkutsk regional parliament, Ulyanovsk region (beaten by Communist party with 34% versus 27% and 37% versus 32%, respectively), while winning only by a thin margin in Zabaykalye region. This is the first time United Russia has lost regional elections in 10 years.
In 2016 K remlin has strengthened its influence in the regions by a large-scale reshuffling of local governors and reforming the regional reform system, which introduced filters and entry barriers to independent candidates. Still, in 2018 four regions are likely to see the second election round as none of the leading candidates in the Khabarovsk, Primorsk, Vladimirsk, and Khakasiya regions got over 50% of the votes required to pass in the first round.
Nevertheless, the election results are going to leave Kremlin relieved, as no major negative surprises were served by the voters in any of the key region, while low voter turnout perhaps indicates low likelihood of any large-scale protests in the nearest future. The head of the United Russia party Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev on September 9 commented that the party showed "worthy and stable results" by maintaining the leadership in "practically" all regions were elections were held.
2.4 Watcom shopping index lags in back to school shopping spree
Its back to school in Russia and time to break out the mini-suits for the boys and the white pom poms to hold the girl’s hair back, but the seasonal spike in shopping September 1 brings in Russia was subdued this year as the Watcom shopping index continues to fall further behind previous years.
“ Shopping Index during back-to-school season showed the worst result over the last 4 years,” says Sergei Skorokhodov, Watcom’s CEO. “ The reason is rational model of purchasing. People are looking for deals, sales as well as e-commerce, thus saving on kids.”
The index uses security cameras in Moscow’s leading shopping malls to measure foot traffic and is an almost real time measure of retail activity in the richest city in the country. However, this year the index has fallen significantly behind previous years, despite a return to positive retail turnover growth and the recovery of real and real disposable incomes after several years of contraction.
11 RUSSIA Country Report October 2018 www.intellinews.com