2025 Rostov Oblast gubernatorial election
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| Turnout | 60.92% 18.23 pp | |||||||||||||||
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The 2025 Rostov Oblast gubernatorial election took place on 12–14 September 2025, on common election day. Acting Governor of Rostov Oblast Yury Slyusar was elected for a full term in office.
Vasily Golubev, Head of Administration of Leninsky District in Moscow Oblast, was elected Governor of Rostov Oblast in June 2010 by the Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast, replacing retiring four-term incumbent Vladimir Chub.[1] Golubev ran for re-election in 2015 and 2020, winning with 78.21% and 65.53% of the vote respectively.[2][3]
In 2024 Golubev was rumoured to resign early ahead of the 2025 election.[4] On November 4, 2024, Golubev announced his resignation and later that day President of Russia Vladimir Putin appointed United Aircraft Corporation CEO Yury Slyusar as acting Governor of Rostov Oblast.[5][6] Experts mostly cited Golubev's long tenure in office as the main reason for his resignation (he was third longest-serving governor at the time of his resignation), however, declining approval ratings might also be the deciding factor.[7] Later in November 2024 Golubev was appointed to the Federation Council by the Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast, replacing incumbent Senator Irina Rukavishnikova.[8]
Candidates
In Rostov Oblast candidates for Governor of Rostov Oblast can be nominated only by registered political parties. Candidate for Governor of Rostov Oblast should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for Governor of Rostov Oblast should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 5% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities.[9] Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.
| Candidate name, political party |
Occupation | Status | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yevgeny Bessonov Communist Party |
 |
Member of State Duma (2021–present) 2020 gubernatorial candidate |
Registered | [10][11] | |
| Denis Frash Liberal Democratic Party |
Member of Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast (2023–present) Businessman |
Registered | [12][13] | ||
| Yury Klimchenko Party of Pensioners |
Pensioner 2024 Murmansk Oblast gubernatorial candidate |
Registered | [14] | ||
| Sergey Kosinov SR–ZP |
Former Member of Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast (2013–2023) | Registered | [15] | ||
| Yury Slyusar United Russia |
 |
Acting Governor of Rostov Oblast (2024–present) Former general director of United Aircraft Corporation (2019–2024) |
Registered | [16][17] | |
Eliminated in the primary
- Arkady Gershman (United Russia), former Member of City Duma of Shakhty (2015–2020), businessman[18]
- Maksim Zakharov (United Russia), Member of Assembly of Deputies of Neklinovsky District (2016–present), businessman[18]
Declined
- Konstantin Babkin (LDPR), owner of Rostselmash, Empils and Buhler Industries, former chairman of the Party of Business (2010–2024)[19]
Candidates for Federation Council
| Head candidate, political party |
Candidates for Federation Council | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yury Slyusar United Russia |
* Aleksandr Ishchenko, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast (2016–present) * Tatyana Karasyova, Defenders of the Fatherland state fund regional director * Andrey Yatskin, incumbent Senator (2020–present), First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (2020–present) |
Registered | |
Finances
Polls
| Fieldwork date | Polling firm | Slyusar | Bessonov | Frash | Kosinov | Klimchenko | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September 2025 | 2025 election | 81.3 | 9.2 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 72.1 |
| 9–22 August 2025 | FOM | 79.4 | 9.3 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 70.1 |
