Gubernatorial elections in 2004 and 2005 were held in 25 federal subjects of Russia. In several regions these elections were moved from end of 2004 to March 14 to combine with the 2004 Russian presidential election.

On 12 December 2004, at the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, gubernatorial elections were abolished throughout the country. These were the last gubernatorial elections in Russia until September 2012.

Race summary Federal subject Incumbent Incumbentsince Election day Candidates Result Udmurtia (snap election) Alexander Volkov 2000 14 March Incumbent re-elected.Altai Krai Aleksandr Surikov 1996 14 March (first round) Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected. 4 April (runoff) Krasnodar Krai (snap election) Alexander Tkachov 2000 14 March Incumbent re-elected.Arkhangelsk Oblast (snap election) Anatoly Yefremov 1996 14 March (first round) Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected. 28 March (runoff) Chita Oblast (snap election) Ravil Geniatulin 1996 14 March Incumbent re-elected. Kaluga Oblast (snap election) Anatoly Artamonov 2000 14 March Incumbent re-elected. Murmansk Oblast Yury Yevdokimov 1996 14 March Incumbent re-elected.Ryazan Oblast (snap election)Vyacheslav Lyubimov 1996 14 March (first round) Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected. 28 March (runoff) Voronezh Oblast (snap election) Vladimir Kulakov 2000 14 March Incumbent re-elected.Koryak AO (snap election)Vladimir Loginov 2000 14 March (first round)Incumbent re-elected. 4 April (runoff) Chechnya (snap election) Akhmad Kadyrov (died in office)Sergey Abramov (acting) 2003 29 August New president elected to a vacant position.Pskov OblastYevgeny Mikhailov 1996 14 November (first round) Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected. 5 December (runoff) Ust-Orda Buryat AO Valery Maleyev 1996 14 November Incumbent re-elected.Kurgan OblastOleg Bogomolov 1996 28 November (first round)Incumbent re-elected. 19 December (runoff) Astrakhan Oblast Anatoly Guzhvin (died in office)Aleksandr Glazkov (acting) 1991 5 December New governor elected to a vacant position.Bryansk OblastYury Lodkin 1996 5 December (first round) Incumbent disqualified.New governor elected. 19 December (runoff)Kamchatka OblastMikhail Mashkovtsev 2000 5 December (first round) Incumbent re-elected. 19 December (runoff)Ulyanovsk OblastVladimir Shamanov (resigned)Maria Bolshakova (acting) 2000 5 December (first round) Incumbent resigned from office.New governor elected. 26 December (runoff)Volgograd OblastNikolay Maksyuta 1996 5 December (first round) Incumbent re-elected. 26 December (runoff) Mari El Leonid Markelov 2000 19 December Incumbent re-elected. Khabarovsk Krai Viktor Ishayev 1991 19 December Incumbent re-elected. Khakassia Aleksey Lebed 1996 26 December Incumbent re-elected.↑ 2004 · 2005 ↓Nenets AOVladimir Butov 1996 23 January (first round) Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected. 6 February (runoff)

Bryansk Oblast Governor of Bryansk Oblast Yury Lodkin was going on his third term in 2004 (fourth if 1993–96 tenure as Head of Administration counted), but was removed from registration "for abuse of office". The application to the regional court was submitted by the candidate from the People's Party Alexander Zhdanov. Lodkin, considered one of the favorites of the campaign, linked his removing from ballot with his Communist Party membership. He accused the United Russia party of “unwillingness to win legally”.Chronicle of Bryansk Oblast elections, Regnum (6 December 2004)

Samara Oblast The elections were set up by the regional court on 19 September 2004,Gubernatorial election to be held in September, Tolyatti News (1 July 2004) after the court recognized that the 5-year term limit, introduced into the Samara Oblast Charter during the 2000 elections, can come into force only after next elections and that Konstantin Titov's term expired on July 2. However, the elections were later canceled by the Supreme Court at the suit of the Central Election Commission.

Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Gubernatorial elections in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug were held on 23 January 2005, the second round was held on February 6. Incumbent governor , in office from 1996, could not be nominated due to the two-term limit (the Supreme Court of Russia overturned regional act passed shortly before the elections that allowed Butov to run for a third term). In addition he was convicted for beating a traffic police officer.In St. Petersburg, the court sentenced the governor of Nenets Autonomous Okrug to three years of suspended imprisonment, Radio Liberty (31 December 2004)

Candidates included:Gubernatorial Elections — 2005, politika.su Alexey Barinov, President of a charitable foundation, former chief federal inspector for Nenets AO, ex-employee of LUKoil Viktoria Bobrova, assistant of Nenets AO Regional Prosecutor Vladimir Butov, relative and namesake of incumbent governor Igor Koshin, member of Nenets AO legislature; former secretary of the political council of United Russia's regional branch, expelled from the party after self-nominating for governorship Leonid Sablin, member of Nenets AO legislature, chairman of regional executive committee (1985–90) Aleksandr Shmakov, entrepreneur, 2001 gubernatorial candidate

Results

Aftermath On 18 February 2005, Alexey Barinov officially took office. In May 2006 he was arrested on charges of committing fraud.Nenets Governor Barinov was arrested, utro.ru (24 May 2006) On June 2 of the same year, President Vladimir Putin removed Barinov from the governorship and appointed the chief federal inspector for the region, Valery Potapenko as the interim governor of NAO. Later, in 2007, Barinov was acquitted.History of elections and appointments of the governor of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, TASS (12 September 2020)

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