Significant Drops in Voter Participation Reported Across Three-quarters of Regions
Voter Eligibility Decreases Across 67 Regions in Russia
The Central Election Commission (CEC) published new voter data on August 4, 2025, revealing a decrease in the number of eligible voters in Russia. As of July 1, 2025, the total number of eligible voters in the country dropped by nearly 125,000 to 111.4 million.
The decline can be attributed to several factors, including demographic decline, administrative updates, and policy or legal changes. Russia has experienced population decreases in many regions due to low birth rates, migration, and mortality, which can reduce the number of eligible voters over time. Regional authorities may revise voter lists, removing deceased, relocated, or otherwise ineligible persons. Adjustments in voting laws or registration requirements might lead to the removal of some voters from rolls.
However, the search results do not provide a detailed official explanation or region-by-region breakdown for the July 2025 decrease in eligible voters. The CEC reported a noticeable decline in voters in the Kemerovo, Sverdlovsk, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, but the regions with the most significant decreases are not specified. Generally, regions with the sharpest population decline, such as some oblasts in Siberia or the Far East, often experience larger drops in voter numbers.
In contrast, some regions experienced growth in the number of eligible voters. The most notable increase was observed in St. Petersburg, where the number of eligible voters increased by nearly 72,000. Significant voter growth was also seen in the Moscow region (up 21,000) and Chechnya (up 13,000). Similar, though less substantial, increases were recorded in the Krasnodar Krai and Dagestan. Tuva also recorded an increase in the number of eligible voters.
The number of voters abroad slightly increased from 1.78 million to 1.79 million as of July 1, 2025. However, the most significant decrease in voters occurred in the Luhansk People's Republic (down 27,000), Kherson (down 26,500), and Rostov (down 15,000) regions.
The July 2025 data will not have the same significance as the January data for the 2026 State Duma elections, as the single-mandate districts for the elections were determined using the January 2025 data. The January 2025 data was also used to determine the electoral districts for the upcoming regional and parliamentary elections in 2026.
Despite the decrease in eligible voters, the electoral processes in Russia are becoming more controlled and less transparent, with increasing restrictions on independent election monitoring. The recent political context, including the closure of the independent monitoring organization Golos, suggests that the electoral process may be less transparent than in the past. However, the voter number changes do not directly explain this trend.
For more detailed figures and official data, it would be possible to locate official Russian Central Electoral Commission data or regional demographic statistics. However, such data is not contained in the current search results.
The decline in eligible voters in Russia could be due to policy or legislative changes, as noted in the general news and politics sphere. Regions with significant drops in voter numbers often coincide with those experiencing the sharpest population decline, as can be observed in some Siberian and Far Eastern oblasts.
Simultaneously, the recent political context and control over electoral processes in Russia suggest a trend of decreasing transparency, with increasing restrictions on independent election monitoring, as seen in the closure of the independent monitoring organization Golos. However, the voter number changes do not directly explain this trend, highlighting the complex interplay between policy and legislation, demographics, and politics in Russia's electoral landscape.
