Elections to eight regional legislatures this Sunday will likely be a key midterm indicator of which parties are in good financial shape for the next State Duma elections and which parties currently enjoy the Kremlin`s blessing. The elections -- in the Kaliningrad, Kursk, Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod and Orenburg regions, the Adygeya and Altai republics and the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district -- are the first batch to occur on the same day under a new law. Amendments to the elections law approved last year set the second Sunday in March as a standard elections day, and stipulate a backup date of the second Sunday in October. All eight races include three of the four parties now represented in the Duma -- United Russia, the Communists and the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party -- as well as the Pensioners` Party, whose success may be short-lived. "We are dealing with the three leaders in the State Duma elections," said Nikolai Petrov, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center. "It`s not clear about the Pensioners` Party." The fourth party with a Duma faction, the nationalist Rodina party, is running in only one race, in the Altai republic. On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected the party`s appeal over being struck off the ballot in the Kursk and Kirov regions. The Party of Life is running in six regions, the Central Elections Commission said in a statement on its web site Thursday. Under an agreement, Yabloko is running in four regions and the Union of Right Forces, or SPS, in three others -- giving liberals a place on the ballot in seven of the regional elections. Yabloko is running in the Kirov, Orenburg and Kaliningrad regions, as well as the Altai republic, while SPS is running in the Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod and Khanty-Mansiisk elections. In the Kirov region, Rodina was denied registration because signatories that nominated the party identified themselves as living in Kirov, not "the Kirov region," a party spokesman said Thursday. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing party rules on speaking to the media. In the Kursk region, Rodina was barred from the race after a complaint from the Patriots of Russia party. A court ruled that Rodina had bribed voters by giving them 70 car air fresheners and had caused enmity through its anti-corruption leaflets, the spokesman said. When asked if the Kremlin was creating problems for the party, he declined to comment. Rodina was banned from the Moscow City Duma elections in December over a xenophobic campaign ad. In Nizhny Novgorod, election officials barred six parties due to technicalities. In addition to Rodina, the local election commission refused to register the Democratic Party, the United Socialist Party of Russia, the Party for Social Justice, the Patriots of Russia and the Agrarian Party. In Adygeya, Rodina, the Agrarian Party, the People`s Patriotic Party of Russia and the People`s Republic Party were barred. Central Elections Commission Chairman Alexander Veshnyakov said last week that he would hold a meeting with parties that were eliminated to explain the mistakes they had made when filing party lists. The little-known Pensioners` Party has emerged as a significant player in regional elections over the past year, stealing votes from United Russia and the Communists alike. However, it remains to be seen how well the party will do Sunday, analysts said. Despite running in all eight races, the party`s fortunes could change because elderly voters have tended to favor the pro-Kremlin United Russia party recently, said Alexei Titkov, an analyst at the Institute of Regional Policy. "Its future is uncertain," Titkov said. "I have some doubts that the presidential administration will need this project any longer." Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Panorama think tank, said the elections were a test for the Pensioners` Party after the ousting of Valery Gartung as its leader last year. Gartung complained that the Kremlin was behind his ouster because he had not been cooperative. Petrov said the Kremlin might use the party as a substitute for Rodina to divert votes away from the Communists. Rodina is also widely believed to have been a Kremlin project to split the Communist electorate, but its leader, Dmitry Rogozin, has often acted independently. But Pribylovsky and Petrov said the Kremlin might bet on Rodina again if it picked a new leader. In Sunday`s elections, half of the regional deputies will be elected from party lists and the other half from single-mandate districts. Five regional leaders head United Russia party lists: Nizhny Novgorod Governor Valery Shantsev, a former Moscow deputy mayor; Khanty-Mansiisk leader Alexander Filipenko, a TNK board member; Kirov Governor Nikolai Shaklein; Kursk Governor Alexander Mikhailov; and Orenburg Governor Alexei Chernyshev. In the Altai republic, United Russia`s list is headed by State Duma Deputy Sergei Pekpeyev and Federation Council member Ralif Safin, a former LUKoil deputy president. Voters in Moscow`s Medvedkovo district will go to the polls Sunday in a State Duma single-mandate by-election to fill the seat vacated by former Deputy Duma Speaker Georgy Boos, who was appointed Kaliningrad governor in September. The candidates are United Russia`s Leonid Govorov, head of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce; LDPR`s Igor Dyakov, editor of the Puteshestvennik magazine; and independent Dmitry Nikonov. In Bryansk, a single-mandate Duma by-election is likely to be postponed until April, after one of the two remaining candidates withdrew Thursday, the Central Elections Commission said. No reason was given for LDPR candidate Valery Khramchenkov`s withdrawal, which left United Russia candidate and Bryansk Deputy Governor Viktor Malashenko as the only candidate. The by-election was called to replace United Russia Deputy Nikolai Denin, who gave up his seat in December 2004 to become Bryansk governor. Also on Sunday, voters in 60 regions will pick new mayors and local council members for newly formed municipal districts.