Russian mayoral candidate seeks recount after loss

Alexei Navalny, with two Jewish aides, misses cutoff for runoff vote by one percentage point

Alexei Navalny speaks to supporters in downtown Moscow. (photo credit: AP/Ivan Sekretarev)
Alexei Navalny speaks to supporters in downtown Moscow. (photo credit: AP/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for a recount in Moscow’s mayoral election after missing the runoff vote cutoff by one percentage point.

Incumbent Sergei Sobyanin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, garnered just over 51 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election to 27 percent for Navalny. Four others also ran to unseat Sobyanin, a former Kremlin chief of staff.

Navalny’s candidacy, which was managed by a pair of tech-savvy Jews, Leonid Volkov and Maksim Kats, had divided Russian Jews. They were torn between the candidate of an establishment that mostly has been good for the Jews, and an opposition leader with nationalist associations some found troubling but who nevertheless promised to restore democracy and good governance.

Reports circulated last month that Navalny had raised a toast to the Holocaust during a reception in the Russian capital; Navalny and his Jewish campaign staffers denied the claims.

Most Popular
read more:
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.