2026 Penza Oblast gubernatorial election
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18–20 September 2026
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| Turnout | 60.14% 3.18 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Penza Oblast gubernatorial election took place on 18–20 September 2026, on common election day, to elect the Governor of Penza Oblast, coinciding with the 2026 Russian legislative election. Incumbent Governor Oleg Melnichenko was re-elected for a second term in office.
Background
[edit]Then-Governor of Penza Oblast Ivan Belozertsev was arrested in March 2021, six months after winning re-election for a second full term with 78.72% of the vote, for taking a 31 million rubles bribe from former Senator Boris Shpigel.[1] President of Russia Vladimir Putin sacked Belozertsev for the "loss of trust" and appointed Senator Oleg Melnichenko as acting Governor of Penza Oblast.[2] Melnichenko easily won an election for a full term in September 2021 with 72.38% of the vote.[3] In January 2024 former governor Belozertsev was found guilty of taking bribes and illegal possession of weapons and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[4]
Melnichenko is a well-known politician in Penza Oblast who previously held high-ranking positions in the regional government and Volga Federal District apparatus. However, his gubernatorial term was largely unremarkable with Melnichenko focusing on transportation and utilities infrastructure refurbishment, increased investments into the social sphere and anticorruption investigations.[5] In preparation for a new term governor Melnichenko made minor adjustments in his cabinet in 2025.[6]
Candidates
[edit]In Penza Oblast candidates for governor of Penza Oblast can be nominated only by registered political parties. A candidate for Governor of Penza Oblast should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for Governor of Penza Oblast should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 8% of the signatures of municipal deputies and heads of municipalities.[7] Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.
Declared
[edit]| Candidate name, political party |
Occupation | Status | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pavel Kulikov Liberal Democratic Party |
Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Penza Oblast (2022–present) | Registered | [8] | ||
| Mikhail Lisin A Just Russia |
Member of Penza City Duma (2024–present) Law firm director |
Registered | [9] | ||
| Oleg Melnichenko United Russia |
 |
Incumbent Governor of Penza Oblast (2021–present) | Registered | [10][11] [12] | |
| Oleg Shalyapin Communist Party |
Deputy Chairman of the Penza City Duma (2019–present) Member of the City Duma (2014–present) 2020 and 2021 gubernatorial candidate |
Registered | [13] | ||
| Viktor Yeroshenko Party of Pensioners |
Rector of Institute of Regional Development of Penza Oblast (2025–present) | Registered | [14] | ||
Candidates for Federation Council
[edit]| Gubernatorial candidate, political party |
Candidates for Federation Council | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pavel Kulikov Liberal Democratic Party |
* Anna Mikhalishcheva, aide to State Duma member Vladimir Koshelev * Aleksey Molebnov, document specialist, community activist * Aleksandr Vasilyev, Member of Penza City Duma (2024–present) |
Registered | |
| Mikhail Lisin A Just Russia |
* Igor Dmitriyevsky, financial specialist * Marina Rodina, aide to Penza City Duma member * Daniil Yunin, community activist |
Registered | |
| Oleg Melnichenko United Russia |
* Aleksandr Gulyakov, Member of Legislative Assembly of Penza Oblast (2007–present), president of Penza State University (2026–present) * Andrey Kibitkin, oblast clinical hospital chief doctor * Nikolay Kondratyuk, incumbent Senator (2021–present) |
Registered | |
| Oleg Shalyapin Communist Party |
* Yury Lyzhin, former Member of State Duma (1996–1999), gas energy executive * Oksana Milayeva, Deputy Minister of Education of Penza Oblast (2021–present) * Vladimir Smirnov, Member of Penza City Duma (2019–present), lending businessman |
Registered | |
| Viktor Yeroshenko Party of Pensioners |
* Denis Averyanov, HR specialist * Kirill Chernov, media specialist * Sergey Shurygin, custodian |
Registered | |
Results
[edit]| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oleg Melnichenko (incumbent) | United Russia | 419,128 | 70.80 | ||
| Oleg Shalyapin | Communist Party | 77,489 | 13.09 | ||
| Pavel Kulikov | Liberal Democratic Party | 40,023 | 6.76 | ||
| Mikhail Lisin | A Just Russia | 30,873 | 5.22 | ||
| Viktor Yeroshenko | Party of Pensioners | 18,145 | 3.07 | ||
| Valid votes | 585,658 | 98.93 | |||
| Blank ballots | 6,309 | 1.07 | |||
| Total | 591,967 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 591,967 | 60.14 | |||
| Registered voters | 984,337 | 100.00 | |||
| Source: | [15] | ||||
Governor Melnichenko re-appointed incumbent Senator Nikolay Kondratyuk (Independent) to the Federation Council.[16]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Губернатора Пензенской области задержали за взятку 31 млн рублей". kommersant.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Путин назначил нового главу Пензенской области". rbc.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Мельниченко набрал 72,38% на выборах пензенского губернатора". ria.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Мельниченко набрал 72,38% на выборах пензенского губернатора". ria.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Известно, как за два года изменилась Пензенская область под руководством Олега Мельниченко". progorod58.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Мельниченко надеется на второй губернаторский срок и готовит перезагрузку правительства области". regcomment.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Закон Пензенской области от 26 сентября 2025 года N 4644-ЗПО "О выборах Губернатора Пензенской области"". docs.cntd.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Куликов Павел Владимирович". izbirkom.ru. Retrieved 2026-07-04.
- ↑ "Лисин Михаил Александрович". izbirkom.ru. Retrieved 2026-07-04.
- ↑ "Мельниченко не знает, будет ли баллотироваться на второй срок". penza.aif.ru. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Олег Мельниченко выдвинут кандидатом в губернаторы Пензенской области". ria.ru. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ "Мельниченко Олег Владимирович". izbirkom.ru. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- ↑ "Шаляпин Олег Васильевич". izbirkom.ru. Retrieved 2026-07-04.
- ↑ "Ерошенко Виктор Александрович". izbirkom.ru. Retrieved 2026-07-04.
- ↑ "Выборы Губернатора Пензенской области". izbirkom.ru. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ "Кондратюк вновь наделен полномочиями сенатора от Пензенской области". interfax-russia.ru. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
