The absence of real competition for seats in the State Duma from the Volgograd region is due to the predictability of the outcome.
The elections for deputies in the State Duma in the Volgograd region lack intrigue — apart from the United Russia party, two of whose members have previously held deputy seats, the other candidates are not conducting active campaigns.
There are three single-member districts in the Volgograd region for the State Duma elections. The ballots for the single-member district include candidates from "United Russia", the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, "Fair Russia – For Truth", "New People", and "Yabloko". Additionally, there will be supplementary elections to the Volgograd Regional Duma and 33 local electoral campaigns in rural and district councils, according to a report from "Caucasian Knot" "Electoral campaign in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal District in 2026".
Nineteen candidates have been registered in the three single-member electoral districts, with each district having its own list. The federal list of "United Russia" from the region includes regional and federal politicians: the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, Evgeny Moskvitchev, the mayor of Volgograd, Vladimir Marchenko, the head of the city's Public Chamber, Evgeny Knyazev, the deputy chairman of the regional Duma, Zina Merzhoeva, the director of the local branch of the Center "VOIN", Igor Vorobyov, and the head of the Regional Management Center, Oleg Yegorushin. The list of the "United Russia" party is headed by the current governor of the region, Andrey Bocharov, according to the election commission data.
The election campaign is not very active
Journalist Vyacheslav Lemkus described the upcoming elections in a conversation with a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" as "empty" and "meaningless". According to him, the election advertising campaign in the regional center is proceeding "slowly and without initiative, weakly, but predictably".
"I haven't watched local television programs for a long time. I don't even know if there are debates. It's impossible to look at the billboards on the street without tears," noted Vyacheslav, emphasizing that the advertising looks gray and uninteresting.
According to the journalist, the single-member candidates were selected in such a way that "the representatives of United Russia would definitely return to the State Duma" – Vitaly Likhachev, Andrey Gimbatov.
Likhachev and Gimbatov are known in Volgograd for their scandals. The former, while being the mayor of the regional center, became famous for mass deforestation, the absence of storm drains, and organized beaches, and several cases related to him were investigated, connected with concessions and illegal construction of a pavilion in the historical part of the city.
Vitaly Likhachev served as the acting city manager of Volgograd from June 29, 2016, and on July 22, 2016, he was appointed to this position. In September, the city council deputies elected him as the head of the city. However, as early as 2017, Likhachev ranked second to last, 87th place in the "National Rating of Mayors" compiled by the Center for Information Communications "Rating" in collaboration with the Financial University under the Government of Russia. This place in the ranking was ensured by the deforestation of the "Widows' Park" near Mamaev Kurgan, the actions of deceived equity holders, and the collapse of an emergency house, the ranking compilers stated. In September 2021, Likhachev officially resigned as the head of Volgograd due to his election as a deputy of the State Duma - Likhachev was among the top three in the regional list of "United Russia".
"In the State Duma, Likhachev was known as a silent deputy, ranking almost last in the activity rating," the journalist reported.
Gimbatov is known to Volgograd residents for scandals related to the use of the Order of the Red Star and organizing a flash mob at Mamaev Kurgan during the peak of the coronavirus epidemic.
"Likhachev and Gimbatov supervise the assault squad "Immortal Stalingrad", which has been participating in the military operation in Ukraine since 2023. For this rear patriotism, they ended up on the sanctions lists of many countries," Lemkus reminded.
In May 2020, the police reported checking then-deputy of the Volgograd City Duma Andrey Gimbatov. On May 9, he participated in the "Immortal Regiment" car rally in military uniform from World War II and wore the Order of the Red Star, reported Interfax.
Regarding Nikolai Nikolaev, Volgograd residents, according to Vyacheslav, "know little about him."
"This United Russia member came to our district No. 85 from another region. He is originally from Tatarstan and built his career as an oil worker in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. He is the oldest candidate – he is 72 years old. In fact, that is all that is known about him," noted Vyacheslav Lemkus.
Among the "statistical candidates", Vyacheslav Lemkus could only highlight the youngest politician, 26-year-old member of the "New People" party Kirill Bochkow, and the secretary of the Stalingrad regional committee of the Communist Party, Andrey Shevchenko.
"Bochkow is a local young politician gaining popularity. He graduated from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, unsuccessfully tried his luck in elections to the city dumas of Nizhny Novgorod and Chertanovo twice, and works in a charitable educational foundation. Shevchenko is known for his frequent speeches on patriotic topics. He has tired Volgograd residents with his party position regarding the renaming of Volgograd to Stalingrad. Their chances of getting into the State Duma are zero. They are just somewhat brighter personalities among the faceless mass of statistical candidates," said Vyacheslav Lemkus.
On April 29, 2025, the governor of the Volgograd region, Andrey Bocharov, told President Vladimir Putin that the veterans' community is asking to rename the Volgograd airport to Stalingrad airport, and Putin signed the corresponding decree on the same day. The renaming of the airport fits into a series of conscious and unconscious attempts to rehabilitate Stalin's name, but there is no real public demand for this, historians and human rights activists surveyed by "Caucasian Knot" believe.
Politician Ilya Kravchenko believes that "no real struggle is expected in any district because there are no real opponents to United Russia; all those who were inconvenient for the authorities were simply declared foreign agents and essentially excluded from the elections."
This is not an election – this is a show. All candidates are pro-government.
"This is not an election – this is a show. All candidates are pro-government. I don't see "Yabloko" or independent candidates, and voting for "United Russia" or United Russia+ makes no difference – green United Russia, red United Russia. What difference does it make?" Ilya exclaimed.
He assessed the chances that the head of the regional list of "United Russia", Governor Andrey Bocharov, would leave his post to go to the State Duma.
"Most likely, no, because he was appointed, so he is working it off. He is not an independent figure, in fact. We have no independent figures left in politics now, so the chance that he will finally leave our region is there. But it is minimal. I think he will work off as the head of the region until he is replaced," he emphasized.
The activist considered the election campaign in the Volgograd region weak
Civil activist Tamara Grodnikova stated that she did not find familiar names on the list of candidates for deputies of the State Duma.
"I admit, I haven't been sufficiently interested in the activity of these people over the past year. One of the reasons is my unsuccessful visit to the regional government. I haven't been there for many years, but a problem arose, and I really hoped to get an appointment with Governor Bocharov. I was told that a personal meeting with him is impossible, there are no days for receiving citizens," Tamara said.
The inaccessibility of the governor surprised Grodnikova – "even shocked" her.
"Effective two-way communication between the authorities and the people is absent. People have stopped hoping for interaction with the authorities, they are drifting along, trying to survive. Such a social environment does not contribute to initiative, creativity, or creation," noted Tamara.
The situation in the region was described by the civil activist as a political and economic stagnation. In her opinion, real political struggle is currently impossible.
"This version is confirmed by what is happening today with the "Yabloko" party. The events surrounding Boris Nadezhdin* and Ekaterina Duntsova* also testify to this. I think the development of events is unlikely to disrupt the usual scenario, which could be called Groundhog Day. But I still believe that a period of change is not far off in Russia, and these changes will be reasonable and favorable," said Tamara Grodnikova.
Grodnikova also called the election campaign in the Volgograd region weak and lacking initiative.
"There is less advertising than in previous years. And people do not pay attention to it. They do not associate their lives with it. There were no "letters of happiness" in my mailbox. And I do not watch local television," noted Tamara Grodnikova.