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2.14 ​Politics - misc
Russia’s northern Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) have frozen plans to merge, after protests broke out in the regions. ​Two weeks ago, the governors of Arkhangelsk and NAO signed a memorandum on unification, and sources suggested that a referendum would take place promptly, likely on September 13, Russia’s unified election day. For the unification to proceed, a majority of residents in both regions need to approve. However, polling data showed that most residents of NAO oppose the move, and several United Russia deputies in the region threatened to the leave the party. The unification of the matryoshka regions will likely happen eventually, but not now, when more pressing issues such as COVID and the economic downturn are ongoing, officials concluded.
2.11 ​Polls & Sociology
More Russians approve of local officials’ coronavirus response efforts than they do of President Vladimir Putin ​and the federal government's response to the pandemic, according to a newly published independent survey. While 50% of the Levada Center pollster’s respondents said that their governors or mayors were doing their best to deal with the outbreak, 46% said the same of Putin and the government. Russians' disapproval was nearly evenly split, with 48% disapproving of Putin and the government’s response and 45% expressing dissatisfaction toward the governors and mayors, according to Levada’s results released April 30. Among Putin's critics, 18% called his measures excessive and 30% said they were insufficient. Among critics of regional leaders, 15% said they took excessive steps and 30% said they were not enough. The Russian government confirmed infections surpassing 100,000 mark on April 30. Putin has largely delegated decision-making authority to regional leaders due to regional differences in infection rates. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, meanwhile, has emerged as
34​ RUSSIA Country Report​ June 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com