The article is devoted to the study of the seven governors’ images in the Irkutsk region (1991–2015), of whom only one exercises his powers during the whole term. Others finish them before the term. A special emphasis is made on the study of unpredictable early elections of the Governor (2015) in the most oppositional region of the Russian Federation, where in spite of a great amount of money, the mobilization of administrative and organizational resources of the power, the support of the party “United Russia”, the President, and the Prime Minister, the current Governor loses election. The candidate of the red zone — the Communist party wins. Certainly, the elections result is not the victory of the candidate from the Communist party, his image or programs, but the result of regional conflict inside the elite, the united protest of the business elite against the Governor. This election campaign was the dirtiest, the votes of the electorate were bought for money, discrediting election technologies, such as “black PR”, Internet blogs, and online opinion polls for the rise of the opponent rating were commonly used. The authors conclude that for twenty-five years, the images of the governors of the Irkutsk region have played a crucial role in the processes of regionalization and federalization of power. Regardless of how they are elected, why so often change and criticized in the eyes of the residents of the area they represent current system of legitimate regional authorities.