(Newsweek) Russian President Vladimir Putin suffered a major blow in Sunday’s nationwide elections—or did he?
Russia's United Democrats—a liberal party that stands in opposition to the Kremlin—saw several shocking upset victories in central Moscow, though Putin's ruling party, United Russia, won all of the municipal elections held outside of Moscow and 75 percent of district council seats in the Russian capital. […]
"One of the reasons the regime sees these smaller elections as a test run is part of its grand strategy to remain in power," David Szakonyi, a scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and expert in Russian corruption and authoritarianism, tells Newsweek.
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