Residents of Khabarovsk in the Russian Federation have been deprived of their right to elect a mayor

By adopting a new city charter, the Khabarovsk City Duma has permanently abolished direct popular elections for mayor. From now on, the head of the city administration will be elected by City Duma deputies upon the recommendation of the regional governor.

Local officials explained this decision by the need to bring the regulations into line with federal legislation on “unified public authority,” adopted in March 2025. City Duma Chairman Andrei Beloglazov also justified the changes by citing “historical continuity with the era of Tsarist Russia.” The previous popularly elected mayor, Sergey Kravchuk, resigned in September after being elected to the State Duma as a member of the “United Russia” party.

Khabarovsk remained one of the last three regional centers in Russia where direct elections for the city’s mayor were still held. Following the cancellation of elections in Yakutsk in late 2025 and in Khabarovsk in 2026, only two regional centers in Russia now have elected mayors—Abakan and Anadyr.

Source: Interfax.

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