The first results from a round of Russian...

A major blow came in the city of Irkutsk, one of the largest in Siberia, where the Communist candidate for mayor won 62% of the vote, more then double United Russia"s candidate, who gained some 27%.

Only about half the eligible voters took part in Sunday"s polls, which were held in regions from the Far East to European Russia amid rising unemployment and utility charges. Elections to local authorities were held in 76 out of 83 Russian regions.

Ahead of the elections, United Russia leaders expressed confidence that the party would gain more than 50% in each of the eight elections to regional legislatures, but the predominant power in the federal parliament appears to have fallen short of those expectations.

According to preliminary data, the party was supported by more than a half of those eligible for voting only in four of the eight regions, gaining around 62% in the southwestern Voronezh and about 53% and 50% in the Kaluga and Ryazan regions around Moscow. In

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