You're reading: Billionaire Abramovich wins regional Russian vote

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's break from regional politics was brief.

The super-rich owner of Britain’s Chelsea soccer club has won a legislative seat in the remote Arctic region of Chukotka.

The Central Election Commission says Abramovich won 97 percent of Sunday’s vote.

The Kremlin-allied oil tycoon was Chukotka’s governor for eight years before President Dmitry Medvedev let him resign in July. Medvedev’s predecessor, Vladimir Putin, had refused to accept his resignation.

Abramovich is believed to have pumped millions of dollars into the region opposite Alaska. He once lamented that his job as governor was “too expensive.”

Now he is expected to head the regional legislature. Two of his former deputies won the other seats up for grabs in the 12-member chamber.