In December 1996 he became a deputy of the Novosibirsk Regional Council of Deputies from the Dzerzhinsky district of
Novosibirsk. In December 2000 he joined the Novosibirsk City Council, where he headed the Communist Party faction. From 2003 to 2014 he was a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. He was elected deputy of the
4th,
5th, and
6th convocations. He was elected in April 2014 with around 44% of the vote. He unexpectedly narrowly defeated the
United Russia candidate by uniting the bulk of opposition forces. During the September 2019 elections, Anatoly was re-elected as mayor with over 50% of the vote. ==Notes==