The results of Moscow’s mayoral election have shocked the Kremlin and indicated, without question, the depth of discontent in the Russian capital and with the country’s leader President Vladimir Putin. Analysts expected opposition leader Alexei Navalny to gather some votes but few were prepared for the lawyer and blogger to snatch nearly 30 per cent in the most important city in Russia – a result which has, overnight, opened a new era in Russian politics.
The 2013 election of Moscow’s mayor will be noted as a watershed in Russian political development. The event on September 8 marked the day when President Vladimir Putin’s carefully crafted practice of, what experts describe as, ‘mana...
