The electoral geography of Russia is a description of regional political differences in the country. In recent years this has been popularized by the obvious territorial cleavages between North and South, urban and rural territories, etc.
One phenomenon of territorial cleavages in electoral preferences in Russia is known as the "red belt" (compact located regions with high support for the Communist Party).
In the first democratic elections in the history of contemporary Russia it was noticed that liberal and democratic politicians had much higher support in the northern regions. The south of Russia appeared more conservative. Nowadays this regional difference remains considerable.
The ruling party United Russia and the Communists are more popular in the southern regions, for example, in the Southern Federal District. Liberal and opposition parties (such as Yabloko) have much more support in the northern regions compared to South.
Both capitals in Russia - Moscow and the "northern capital" Saint Petersburg - significantly differ in electoral results from the rest of the country. Only in these cities is there strong electoral support of liberal and democratic politicians. Support for United Russia is less than in other regions.
The Urban factor is considered to be most obvious electoral cleavage in Russia. The level of support of many political parties differs in several times in towns and rural territories. The rural population in Russia tends to provide higher support for Communists and (national-)conservative politicians. Urban populations provide support for liberal parties (such as Yabloko and the Union of Right Forces) in several times bigger than in rural territories. Also "new left" parties of social orientation (such as A Just Russia) have a much higher support in towns. Electoral results of United Russia are worse in towns compared to rural territories. The urban electorate tends more toward the opposition than rural voters.
The Ethnic factor also plays an important role in territorial differences in electoral behaviour in Russia. Regions and districts with large proportions of Turkic and Caucasian representatives have significant features of electoral results. Parties of military authoritarian orientation have less support here - such as the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, famous politician in the 1990s Alexander Lebed, and Vladimir Putin at the start of his political career in 1999. Voters of these nationalities are more conservative. In the 2000s electoral support for the ruling party is especially high in these territories.