2025 Jewish Autonomous Oblast gubernatorial election

2025 Jewish Autonomous Oblast gubernatorial election

12–14 September 2025

LDPR CPCR Candidate Maria Kostyuk Vasily Gladkikh Aleksandr Krupsky Party United Russia LDPR Communists of Russia   NL CPRF Candidate Vladimir Potapenko Aleksandr Shcherbina Party New People Communist Party

Governor before election Maria Kostyuk (acting) United Russia Governor-elect TBD TBD

The 2025 Jewish Autonomous Oblast gubernatorial election will take place on 12–14 September 2025, on common election day. Acting Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast Maria Kostyuk is running for a full term in office.

Then-Federation Council member Rostislav Goldstein was appointed acting Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast in December 2019, replacing retiring first-term incumbent Alexander Levintal.^[1] Golstein ran for a full term in 2020 and overwhelmingly won the election with 82.50% of the vote in absence of CPRF and LDPR candidates.^[2]

On November 5, 2024, President of Russia Vladimir Putin appointed Goldstein acting Head of the Komi Republic, simultaneously he appointed Maria Kostyuk to replace Goldstein as Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast.^[3][4] Kostyuk previously worked as Goldstein's aide and regional official until 2023, when she moved to Moscow to work for "Defenders of the Fatherland" foundation and RANEPA asTime of Heroes training programme head. Kostyuk also became the first and only serving female Russian governor since the resignation of Natalya Komarova as Governor of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in May 2024 and until March 2025, when Irina Gecht was appointed acting Governor of Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

In Jewish Autonomous Oblast candidates for Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast can be nominated only by registered political parties. Candidate for Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 7% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities.^[5] 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.
Vasily Gladkikh Liberal Democratic Party			Member of Legislative Assembly of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (2021–present)	Registered	[6]
Maria Kostyuk United Russia			Acting Governor of Jewish Autonomous Oblast (2024–present) Former Deputy Chairwoman of the Government of Jewish Autonomous Oblast (2021–2023)	Registered	[7][8]
Aleksandr Krupsky Communists of Russia			Pensioner 2020 CPSS gubernatorial candidate	Registered	[9]
Dmitry Potapenko New People			Individual entrepreneur	Registered	[10]
Aleksandr Shcherbina Communist Party			Member of Birobidzhan City Duma (2024–present)	Registered	[11]
Sergey Antropenkov Rodina			Unemployed	Failed to qualify	[12]
Vladimir Dudin SR–ZP			Member of Legislative Assembly of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (2011–present) 2015 and 2020 gubernatorial candidate	Failed to qualify	[13]
Yelena Voroshilova Party of Pensioners			Former Member of Birobidzhan City Duma (2014–2019) Social services centre director	Failed to qualify	[14]
Dmitry Vedernikov The Greens			Security guard	Nominated	[15]

• Danil Skibinsky (United Russia), First Deputy Mayor of Obluchye (2022–present)^[7]
• Mikhail Yurkin (United Russia), community activist^[7]

Incumbent Senator Yuri Valyaev (Independent) was not renominated.

• 2025 Russian regional elections