Analyzing a comprehensive quantitative dataset for the years 2002 to 2018, the paper shows that over the past 20 years, 10% of mayors in Russia's 221 biggest cities have been arrested as part of a large-scale anti-corruption campaign. In the case of opposition mayors, the proportion was as high as 32%. Political popularity can protect mayors against arrest, both for pro-government and opposition mayors, as authorities are concerned about public protests caused by the arrest of popular local politicians.

The study was co-authored by Michael Rochlitz (University of Bremen), Noah Buckley (Trinity College Dublin), John Reuter (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Anton Aisin (Higher School of Economics). It was published in the journal Comparative Political Studies (impact factor 5.143) and can be downloaded via the following link:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00104140211047399