The 2025 Sverdlovsk Oblast gubernatorial election took place on 12–14 September 2025, on common election day. Acting Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast Denis Pasler was elected for a full term in office.
Background Then-Presidential Envoy to the Ural Federal District Yevgeny Kuyvashev was appointed acting Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast in May 2012, replacing first-term governor Alexander Misharin who resigned early. Later that month Kuyvashev was confirmed in the position by the Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Governor Kuyvashev ran for re-election in 2017 and 2022, winning with 62.16% and 65.78% of the vote. Under Yevgeny Kuyvashev Sverdlovsk Oblast saw dynamic social and economic development, while the governor was successful in managing conflicts in a traditionally politically active and protest-leaning region. For example, Kuyvashev was instrumental in removing opposition Mayor of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman in 2018 and publicly supported building a church instead of public square in the city that sparked massive protests in 2019, while at the same time protecting Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center and fending off conservative critics, like Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Solovyev and Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Governor Kuyvashev was also mentioned a potential candidate for promotion to the Government of Russia after 2024 Russian presidential election, however, he did not receive an appointment when the Mikhail Mishustin's Second Cabinet was formed in May 2024. In February 2025 Vedomosti reported that Presidential Administration of Russia was looking into replacing Kuyvashev as Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast in spring or fall of 2025, while Kuyvashev himself denied his intention to resign. Governor of Orenburg Oblast and former Prime Minister of Sverdlovsk Oblast Denis Pasler was viewed as the most likely successor to Kuyvashev, though other candidates reportedly were considered, including recently appointed Presidential Envoy to the Ural Federal District Artem Zhoga, First Deputy Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast Aleksey Shmykov, Yekaterinburg mayor Aleksey Orlov and Andrey Yarin, Head of the Presidential Office for Internal Policy.
On March 26, 2025, Yevgeny Kuyvashev tendered his resignation, later that day President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with Denis Pasler and asked him to become acting Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, which Pasler accepted. Meanwhile, various sources alleged that Kuyvashev would soon receive a new position at the federal level.
Candidates In Sverdlovsk Oblast candidates for Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast can be nominated only by registered political parties. Candidate for Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 7.9% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities. Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.
Declared Candidate name,political partyOccupationStatusRef.Aleksandr IvachyovCommunist Party Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present)Member of the Legislative Assembly (2016–present)2022 gubernatorial candidateRegisteredAleksandr KaptyugLiberal Democratic Party Member of Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present)2022 gubernatorial candidateRegisteredRant KrayevNew People Member of Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present)RegisteredAndrey KuznetsovSR–ZP Member of State Duma (2021–present)2022 gubernatorial candidateRegisteredDenis PaslerUnited Russia Acting Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2025–present)Former Governor of Orenburg Oblast (2019–2025)RegisteredDinamudin SadikhovCivic Initiative JournalistFailed to qualifyIvan VolkovRussian All-People's Union Lawyer2017 and 2022 gubernatorial candidateFailed to qualifyStanislav NaumovLiberal Democratic Party Member of State Duma (2021–present)Withdrew
Eliminated in the primary Aleksey Orlov (United Russia), Mayor of Yekaterinburg (2020–present)
Declined Alexander Demin (New People), Member of State Duma (2021–present), 2022 gubernatorial candidate Sergey Kozlov (New People), Member of Yekaterinburg City Duma (2023–present)
Candidates for Federation Council Head candidate,political partyCandidates for Federation CouncilStatusAleksandr IvachyovCommunist Party * Yevgeny Bukreyev, Member of Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present)* Oleg Gordeyev, Member of Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present) * Rimma Skomorokhova, Member of Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present)RegisteredAleksandr KaptyugLiberal Democratic Party * Yevgeny Klimov, city polyclinic deputy general director* Ksenia Leshchenko, Member of Yekaterinburg City Duma (2023–present) * Aleksandr Panasenko, Member of Pervouralsk City Duma (2012–2017, 2022–present), businessmanRegisteredRant KrayevNew People * Dmitry Dymshakov, furniture businessman* Nikita Lezhankin, former sports gymnast * Olga Zyryanova, Ural Federal University sociology senior lecturerRegisteredAndrey KuznetsovSR–ZP * Maksim Chiryshev, Russian Army soldier* Aleksey Korovkin, Member of Novaya Lyalya Duma (2022–present), ambulance paramedic * Yekaterina Yesina, Member of Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2021–present)RegisteredDenis PaslerUnited Russia * Lyudmila Babushkina, Chairwoman of the Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2011–present)* Aleksey Orlov, Mayor of Yekaterinburg (2020–present) * Viktor Sheptiy, incumbent Senator (2022–present)RegisteredDinamudin SadikhovCivic Initiative* Sergey Borozdin, businessman* Ilona Reinhardt, Ural State Law University senior lecturer * Natalya Sheychenko, housing cooperative co-founderFailed to qualify
Finances All sums are in rubles. Financial Report Source Ivachyov Kaptyug Krayev Kuznetsov Pasler Sadikhov First 900,000 266,600 8,196,585 929,640 25,000,000 249,320 Final 4,950,000 4,676,600 28,867,585 6,119,280 59,007,500 249,320
Polls Fieldwork datePolling firm Pasler Ivachyov Kuznetsov Kaptyug KrayevNoneLead14 September 20252025 election61.315.312.76.12.72.046.05–19 August 2025WCIOM54.114.811.37.69.92.339.3
Results
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ! style="text-align:left;" colspan=2| Candidate ! style="text-align:left;"| Party ! width="75"|Votes ! width="30"|% |- | style="background-color:"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denis Pasler (incumbent) | style="text-align:left;"| United Russia | | 61.30 |- | style="background-color:"| | style="text-align:left;"| Aleksandr Ivachyov | style="text-align:left;"| Communist Party | | 15.25 |- | style="background-color:"| | style="text-align:left;"| Andrey Kuznetsov | style="text-align:left;"| A Just Russia – For Truth | | 12.66 |- | style="background-color:"| | style="text-align:left;"| Aleksandr Kaptyug | style="text-align:left;"| Liberal Democratic Party | | 6.09 |- | style="background-color:"| | style="text-align:left;"| Rant Krayev | style="text-align:left;"| New People | | 2.72 |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan="3"| Valid votes | | 98.02 |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan="3"| Blank ballots | | 1.98 |- style="font-weight:bold" | style="text-align:left;" colspan="3"| Total | | 100.00 |- | style="background-color:#E9E9E9;" colspan="6"| |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan="3"| Turnout | | 39.89 |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan="3"| Registered voters | | 100.00 |- | colspan="5" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;"| |- style="font-weight:bold" | colspan="4" |Source:
Governor Pasler re-appointed incumbent Senator Viktor Sheptiy (United Russia) to the Federation Council.
See also 2025 Russian regional elections
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