Russia. Putin Allies Suffer Election Setbacks Amid Pensions Protests

Russian President Vladimir Putin got a taste of public anger at his plans to increase the pension age as voters turned on the ruling party in regional elections and hundreds were arrested at protests against the reform.

United Russia’s candidates for governor in four regions, mostly in the country’s east, were forced into runoffs after failing to win majorities in elections Sunday. They trailed Communist and nationalist opponents in two of the races, gaining as little as 32 percent support in elections that are usually tightly controlled by the Kremlin to deliver rubber-stamp endorsements of its candidates.

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