2023 Smolensk Oblast gubernatorial election

State Duma member Alexey Ostrovsky was appointed acting Governor of Smolensk Oblast in April 2012 after the resignation of Sergey Antufyev.[1] Ostrovsky was unanimously elected for a full term a week later by Smolensk Oblast Duma, becoming first governor from LDPR since 1999, when then-Governor of Pskov Oblast Yevgeny Mikhailov switched to Unity. Ostrovsky was the only governor from the party until 2018, when Vladimir Sipyagin and Sergey Furgal were elected governors of Vladimir Oblast and Khabarovsk Krai respectively. In May 2015 Ostrovsky asked President Vladimir Putin for early resignation, he was immediately reappointed as acting Governor of Smolensk Oblast[2] and won September 2015 gubernatorial election with 65.2% of the vote.[3] Governor Ostrovsky won a 2020 election for a third gubernatorial term with 56.5%.[4]

On 17 March 2023, unexpectedly for LDPR and most observers, Alexey Ostrovsky asked for resignation after serving more than 10 years in office. President Putin approved the request and replaced Ostrovsky with Vasily Anokhin, Director of the Department of Regional Development at the Apparatus of the Government of Russia.[5] Anokhin is viewed as ally of Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, whose secretariat acting governor previously headed.

In Smolensk Oblast candidates for Governor can be nominated only by registered political parties, self-nomination is not possible. However, candidates are not obliged to be members of the nominating party. Candidate for Governor of Smolensk Oblast should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for Governor should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 7% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities.[6] Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.

• 2023 Russian regional elections