The dynamic nationalisation of voting for United Russia: the stability / instability of regional deviations from national results

Abstract

Based on the results of Duma and Presidential elections over the period 2003–2016, this article examines cross-regional variation in static and dynamic nationalisation of voting for United Russia (UR). The main finding is that in an overwhelming majority of Russian regions, a high level of static nationalisation is accompanied by a high level of dynamic nationalisation. In most of the regions, voting for UR rises or falls in a consistent manner across the elections. Cross-regional variations in both static and dynamic nationalisation of UR’s support are mostly explained by the degree of authoritarianism in Russian regions.