Writing in The Moscow Times, Nikolay Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Center suggests that United Russia wasn’t as successful in this week’s regional elections as commonly believed.

“United Russia leaders tout the fact that the party won in all nine regional parliaments, even under difficult economic conditions. Their opponents point out that not only did United Russia fare worse in every region than it did during the 2007 State Duma elections, but it also lost badly wherever the slightest hint of competition existed.

“The party’s losses in the eyes of the public are probably of less significance than its loss of status among the regional political elites. United Russia’s greatest setbacks occurred not only in major cities with their large — and less-controllable — voter populations, but also among the Caucasus republics. United Russia on average lost about 10 percent of its usual voter base, but in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachayevo-Cherkessia the losses stood at 25 percent. That signals the end of United Russia’s monopoly among the administrative elite in the regions.