Geographical Patterns of Party Support in the Baltic States, Russia, and Ukraine

Abstract

This article analyses spatial patterns of party support in the five post-Soviet transitional countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. Data on electoral geography is employed to measure the degrees and dynamics of political autonomy and institutionalization of party systems in the former republics of the Soviet Union. A comparison of post-independence electoral cycles reveals a number of important similarities and differences between the regional strength of party support in the Baltic states, Russia, and Ukraine over time. Although all five countries manifest a tendency towards a greater regional homogeneity of the regional support for the major political organizations, the pace of this trend and patterns of party-system nationalization are different in different countries.