# 2024 Saint Petersburg gubernatorial election

The 2024 Saint Petersburg gubernatorial election took place on 6–8 September 2024, on common election day. Incumbent Governor Alexander Beglov was re-elected to a second term in office.

## Background

Then-Presidential Plenipotentiary to the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Beglov was appointed acting Governor of Saint Petersburg in October 2018, replacing two-term incumbent Georgy Poltavchenko, who resigned at his own request. Beglov previously served as acting Governor of Saint Petersburg between June and October 2003 after Vladimir Yakovlev's resignation and prior to the election of Valentina Matviyenko in the second round of 2003 gubernatorial election. Poltavchenko meanwhile was appointed as chairman of the board of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, where he served until August 2023.
Beglov ran for a full term as an Independent, despite prior affiliations to the United Russia party, and faced a potential highly competitive election due to his soaring unpopularity and the city's overall heightened oppositional sentiments. Several notable candidates were absent from the ballot as Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg members Oleg Kapitonov (LDPR) and Boris Vishnevskiy (Yabloko) failed to qualify, while State Duma member Vladimir Bortko (CPRF) unexpectedly withdrew on August 31. Beglov won the September 2019 election with 64.43% against two opponents, Legislative Assembly members Nadezhda Tikhonova of A Just Russia and Mikhail Amosov of Civic Platform, both of whom received around 16%.
Among the most notable events during Beglov's first term was his conflict with businessman and Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. In autumn 2022 Prigozhin claimed that he invested 2 billion rubles into Beglov's 2019 campaign, while the governor sabotaged Wagner's headquarters opening and awarded city contracts to his friends and cronies. Governor Beglov in return replied that the conflict with Prigozhin had been caused by the businessman's desire to control food catering, garbage disposal and subway construction in the city. The conflict wound down with Prigozhin's and his closest allies' demise in a plane crash in August 2023. Political experts claimed that Prigozhin's death virtually eliminated major opposition to Beglov and cleared his way to a second term in office.
In April 2024 during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin Governor Beglov announced his intention to run for a second term and received Putin's endorsement.

## Candidates

In Saint Petersburg candidates for Governor can be nominated by registered political parties or by self-nomination. Candidate for Governor of Saint Petersburg 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 10% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities. In addition, self-nominated candidates should collect 2% of signatures of Saint Petersburg residents. Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.

### Declared

| Candidate name, political party | Occupation | Status | Ref. |
| Alexander Beglov United Russia | incumbent Governor of Saint Petersburg (2003, 2018–present) | Registered | |
| Pavel Bragin The Greens | Member of Ulyanka Municipal Okrug Council (2019–present) Waste management executive | Registered | |
| Sergey Malinkovich Communists of Russia | Member of Altai Krai Legislative Assembly (2021–present) Chairman of Communists of Russia party (2022–present) Perennial candidate 2024 presidential candidate | Registered | [13][14] [15] |
| Maksim Yakovlev Liberal Democratic Party | Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2011–present) | Registered | |
| Aleksandr Abdin RPSS | Private clinic owner and chief doctor | Failed to qualify | |
| Aleksey Kovalyov Independent | Humanitarian aid coordinator | Failed to qualify | |
| Maria Mikhaylova Rodina | Businesswoman | Failed to qualify | [11][20] [21] |
| Sergey Artemov PPD | Businessman Community activist | Did not file | |
| Igor Bucherov Independent | Member of Toksovo Council of Deputies (2019–present) Businessman | Did not file | |
| Iosif Dzhagaev Independent | Businessman 2023 Moscow mayoral candidate | Did not file | |
| Svetlana Ivanova Party of Progress | Individual entrepreneur | Did not file | |
| Nikolay Kalinin Independent | Pensioner | Did not file | |
| Roman Kononenko Communist Party | Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2021–present) | Did not file | [27][28] [29][30] |
| Maksim Konoplyanikov Independent | Businessman | Did not file | |
| Sergey Kudryavtsev Independent | Youth center human resources department head | Did not file | |
| Nikolay Kuznetsov Independent | Businessman | Did not file | |
| Yury Novotortsev Independent | Driver | Did not file | |
| Lilia Sudyina Independent | Member of Ivanovsky Municipal Okrug Council (2022–present) Youth social rehabilitation center director | Did not file | |
| Lyudmila Vasilyeva Independent | Pensioner Anti-war activist | Did not file | [36][37] [38] |
| Aleksandr Vinogradov Independent | Individual entrepreneur Consumer rights advocate | Did not file | |
| Vladislav Voronkov Independent | Housing management association director | Did not file | |
| Boris Zverev Independent | Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2021–present) | Did not file | |

### Declined

* Mikhail Amosov, Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (1994–2007, 2016–present), 2003 gubernatorial candidate, 2019 Civic Platform gubernatorial candidate
* Sardana Avksentyeva (New People), Member of State Duma (2021–present)
* Vladimir Bortko (CPRF), former Member of State Duma (2011–2021), 2019 gubernatorial candidate
* Vyacheslav Borodenchik (CPRF), Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2021–present)
* Vladislav Davankov (New People), Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (2021–present), 2023 Moscow mayoral candidate, 2024 presidential candidate
* Oksana Dmitriyeva (New People), Member of State Duma (1993–1998, 1999–2016, 2021–present), 2014 A Just Russia gubernatorial candidate
* Vadim Grishkov (CPRF), Member of Legislative Assembly of Leningrad Oblast (2021–present), 2020 Leningrad Oblast gubernatorial candidate
* Pavel Itkin (LDPR), Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2023–present), Member of the Legislative Assembly (2019–present)
* Olga Khodunova (CPRF), former Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2016–2021)
* Sangadzhi Tarbaev (New People), Member of State Duma (2021–present), Chairman of the Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourist Infrastructure (2021–present)
* Nadezhda Tikhonova (SR–ZP), former Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2016–2021), 2019 gubernatorial candidate
* Boris Vishnevskiy (Yabloko), Member of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (2011–present), 2019 gubernatorial candidate, foreign agent

### Candidates for Federation Council

| Gubernatorial candidate, political party | Gubernatorial candidate, political party | Candidates for Federation Council | Status |
| Alexander Beglov United Russia | | * Yelena Lozko, 2000 Wheelchair dancesport World Champion * Igor Maksimtsev, Rector of Saint Petersburg State University of Economics (2006–present) * Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council (2011–present), incumbent Senator (2011–present) | Registered |

## Results

Summary of the 6–8 September 2024 Saint Petersburg gubernatorial election results :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Alexander Beglov (incumbent) | United Russia | 895,307 | 59.80 |
| | Maksim Yakovlev | Liberal Democratic Party | 274,516 | 18.34 |
| | Pavel Bragin | The Greens | 176,467 | 11.79 |
| | Sergey Malinkovich | Communists of Russia | 120,694 | 8.06 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,466,984 | 97.98 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 30,185 | 2.02 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,497,172 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,497,172 | 37.50 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 3,992,070 | 100.00 |
| Source: | Source: | Source: | Source: | |
Governor Beglov re-appointed incumbent Senator and Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko (United Russia) to the Federation Council.