How 'controlled' are the non-Yabloko opposition parties you mentioned? I was under the impression that Yabloko was a legitimate opposition, LPDR was 100% in Putin's pocket, and have heard varying things about Just Russia and the Communists.
Just Russia is basically a front for the Kremlin. They have almost no independence whatsoever. Id say LPDR is less controlled than them. They are pro-Kremlin, but not necessarily pro-Medvedev. The Communists are also supportive of Putin on the issues we in the west care about (Crimea, Gay rights etc.) but not Medvedev and especially not economic policy such as Pension reform. For Just Russia the word "controlled" is correct imo, but i am not sure to what extent it applies to LPDR/Communists. Perhaps here the word "tolerated" is better?
Should be said that while the focus has mostly been on Moscow, outside Moscow United Russia swept almost everything, helped in part by the strategy of replacing Governors a Year before the election with new ones, to mitigate the anti-incumbency. So its not so much of a loss for UR.
Sounds a lot like the local elections in Turkey. Yeah, it's fine to put a chink in the armor of Putin and Erdogen in the capitals of the two countries. But it's still a long way from actually threatening each's grip on national power.
