Communists gain control of two more Russia’s regions

Yesterday’s gubernatorial elections presented a kind of sensation. Communists won outright victories in the country’s 3 regions. In the central Ivanovo Region, Vladimir Tikhonov, member of the Duma's Communist Party faction, scored nearly 62 votes. In the north-eastern Kamchatka Region, Vladimir Mashkovtsev, first secretary of the regional Communist Party organization proved a winner. In the southern Stavropol Territory, communist Aleksandr Chernogorov, was elected for the 2nd term, having scored 56.4% of votes. According to the latest reports, incumbent governors in the Ryazan and Arkhangelsk regions – Vyacheslav Lyubimov and Anatoli Yefremov, correspondingly, - have retained their positions. At the same time, Gennadi Savelyev, the deputy chairman of the region’s audit chamber, was elected head of administration in the Komi-Perm Autonomous Region. In the Mari-El republic, Leonid Markelov, director general of the Rosgosstrakh company, won the presidential elections with a big margin.