Kindergarten Varenik vs. University Varenik: The Most Unusual Spoilers for the 2025 Fall Elections

Tomorrow, Unified Voting Day begins in Russia: elections at various levels will be held in 81 regions. Some polling stations featured traditional "spoilers" or "clones"—when a strong candidate is opposed by a competitor with the same last name, which helps confuse voters and divert votes.

NotMoscow I have collected the most striking cases of this autumn season.

🔸 In Tomsk against a university employee Elizaveta Varenik, who is running for the city council from the New People party, exhibited Larisa Varenik, who works in a kindergarten and is a member of United Russia.

🔸 For the city council elections Cheboksary registered self-nominated candidate Sergey Pavlov. According to the authors of the Telegram channel "Angry Chuvashia", he must make up competition for the candidate from New People To Arkady Pavlov, who, in turn, is the main rival of the current United Russia deputy Vladislava Grigorieva — one of the richest people in the city parliament. It is noted that independent candidate Sergei Pavlov runs a company located at the same address as Grigoriev's automobile center.

🔸 In Ivanovo — a series of candidates with the same last name. For example, in one of the districts, against a Communist Party candidate for city council deputy Alexandra Korotkova exhibited two people with the same last names—they're running for the New People and Communists of Russia parties. In another district, they're running against a candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Ilya Zhuravlev They nominated his full namesake from the Communists of Russia.

🔸 An unusual spoiler has been spotted in Irkutsk: he must draw back votes for the United Russia candidate Leonid Frolov, who is the current head of the district and has already been implicated in corruption scandals. Spoiler Andrey Frolov He is a member of the Rodina party and has a criminal record for assault.

🔸 Formerly "NeMoscow" told about a veritable parade of lookalikes spotted at the city council elections Orla: there were seven pairs of candidates with the same last names nominated there at once (Kotovs, Kharybins, Sushkovs, Fedorovs, Drugins, Seregins и Kolosovs). And against the current deputy Igor Konovalov, who criticizes the government, as many as three people with the same last name showed up (I had to go to Tula region).