Voting. Image by Photobank Moscow-Live. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Voting. Image by Photobank Moscow-Live

Voting Day II: A Brief Overview

This is a brief overview of the election observation findings on the Second Voting Day, September 18, 2021, by the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"'.

Main trends of the voting day

1. The second day of voting revealed problems related to the safety of ballots and electoral documents overnight. Election commissions did not always seal safes and voting areas. Some safes had structural defects that allowed penetration even when they were formally closed and sealed. Also, several safes were placed in areas inaccessible to video observation. In some areas unauthorized persons entered at night. In the morning it turned out that some of the safety bags were damaged. The commissions also did not provide the observers with the necessary copies of the acts.

2. Ballot stuffing, multiple voting/voting for other persons, and bribery of voters was detected at polling stations. As a rule, this happened in regions where such violations have already become traditional. However, it is alarming that these same issues were revealed in the parts of Russia that, until recently, were considered 'healthy' in terms of electoral procedures.

3. In many regions, observers, commission members, and candidates faced very tough resistance, often forceful. There were attempts to remove them without a court decision, taking them to police stations, and sometimes bribe them. But most alarming is the fact of beatings or threats by organized informal groups consisting of athletic-looking young people who were largely condoned by the police. Issues with the implementation of the rights of observers and commission members, as well as their security, have reached the most alarming level in all the recent years: the current situation is similar to what happened 7 or 8 years ago.

Improper storage of ballots and electoral documents

On the first day of voting, (Friday, September 17, working day) the main problem across the country was queues at polling stations (which clearly demonstrated the level of administrative staff coercion), whereas Saturday, September 18, was marked by a huge number of messages about violations of the rules for ballots storing, which were left at the PECs for the night. These rules are especially important in conditions of a multiple-day voting, since the real opportunity to control the safety of ballots at night exists only in the case of strict adherence to the sealing procedures.

These issues actually started on the night of Friday, September 17. Reports came from different parts of the country that the design of safes used for storing ballots could not provide for safety: the bottom of the deposits easily came off or it was possible to open the deposit from the back (sometimes there was simply no back wall). Such messages came from Kalmykia, Volgograd and Moscow oblasts.

Noteworthy is that problems arose not only with safes, but also with ordinary ballot boxes, which did not reliably protect ballots. In Saratov, a ballot box filled with ballots simply disintegrated.

In the Stavropolskiy Krai, the voter Olga Bezuglova came to vote and found out that the lids of the stationary ballot boxes were not fixed. As a result, the seals were not fastened at all. Two (out of two) stationary boxes were not properly sealed: if needed, their lids could be slightly opened. The chairperson replied in a very rude way to Olga's comments. Moreover, Olga was attacked after she left the polling station.

In the village of Verkhnyaya Salda, Sverdlovsk Oblast (PEC No. 286), a lid was not screwed to the stationary ballot box. In Ryazan, a mobile team returned from home voting visits with an open box.

In some cases, the commissions did not use safes to store ballots and documents. At PEC No. 2822 in Tatarstan, the electoral documents were kept overnight in a closet with a broken door that wouldn't close. With reference to observers, the media reported that 240 people had actually voted on the site, However, the acts showed 617 voters. Moreover, on September 17, the site turned off the lights.

At PEC No. 1014 in Moscow, upon completion of the commission's work, the voting registers were left outside the safe, in an adjacent room. Under the pretext of cleaning, a member of the commission with an advisory vote was forced to leave, whereas the commission itself remained in the room for about 15 minutes under no supervision. Then the chairman of the commission left. Only later, following the demands of a member of the commission, the chairman came back and put the documents in the sealed safe. However, not a single certified copy of an act was issued to the observers and members of the commission with an advisory vote. We should note that complaints about the refusal to issue acts on Friday evening were very common.

In a number of cases, documents and ballots were stored at night in unsealed premises or even taken out of the polling stations. For example, in St. Petersburg, the chairman of PEC No. 306, Polina Erokhina, refused to seal the voting room for the night. The same problem was revealed at PECs No. 562 and No. 563 in St. Petersburg: after the end of voting, unused ballots and voter registers were taken out of the stations by the chairmen of those PECs to later be taken away in an unknown direction. The same happened at PEC No. 170 in the village of Khorlovo, which belong to the Voskresensk area of Moscow, and Lobnya. Both the safe with ballots and the Optical scan voting system were located in a single room. However, a side room was sealed. Access to the room was limited to observers throughout the whole day. The premises of Otradnoye, Samara Oblast, were not sealed at all.

In many cases the documentation (both during the voting and at night) was stored in rooms without video observation. Sometimes safe-deposits were not in the field of video coverage. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) reported that in the Kirov Oblast, video cameras had been turned off at several stations at night. This happened in Orichevsky district – PEC No. 809, in Omutninsky district – PECs No. 748, 749, 755, 756, in Yaransky district – PECs No. 1156,  No. 1157. At 25 polling stations, a suspicious hassle was detected at night. In 15 cases the appearance of unidentified people was detected, namely this happened at PECs No. 157,  No. 159,  No. 166,  No. 168,  No. 259,  No. 270,  No. 271,  No. 282,  No. 302,  No. 343,  No. 350,  No. 354,  No. 376,  No. 380,   No. 386,  No. 390,  No. 391,  No. 425,  No. 453,  No. 510,  No. 548,  No. 823,  No. 874,  No. 884,  No. 1194.

In Mytishchi, Moscow area, at PEC No. 1684, the safes were located outside the camera surveillance zone. The same problem was detected in Vorkuta, the Republic of Komi, in Moscow, Istra and St. Petersburg.

Observers and commission members also report that seals and safety-bags were found damaged the morning after. For example, in Kemerovo, a member of the commission with the right of an advisory vote found one damaged bag among the safety-bags of the station No. 301. The bag was opened along the sealed line and then covered with tape.

At PEC No. 185 of the Orenburg Oblast, all the safety-bags were opened. In Tambov, at PEC No. 761, doubts arose about the integrity of the safety-bag No. 79869290, as damaged and clearly torn parts were visible. In Ufa, one safety-bag was incorrectly sealed from the very beginning: a red indicator tape had been ripped off. The indicator tape allows to determine, if the bag was opened.

In Moscow, a candidate to the State Duma Nikolai Volkov filed a claim to the prosecutor's office with a request to conduct an investigation related to the fact of illegal entry into the voting premises. On September 18, at 7:20 AM, Nikita Budkin, a member of commission No. 2385 with the right of an advisory vote, discovered that the seal, placed the day before, was torn in half. The police was called to register the occurrence. A similar issue was found at the Moscow PEC No. 885.

In the Moscow district of Vykhino-Zhulebino, at the station No. 295, during the night from 17 to 18 September, unknown people entered the voting area. The morning after observers found that the voters list was stitched differently than it had been done the night before. A security guard told the observers about the night visit of the unknown people. The guard tried to keep them out of the area. He complained that after a call from his leadership, he was forced to open the doors of the polling station. Moreover, the day before, the observers noted that members of the commission were entering data in the voters register instead of the person assigned. On September 17, the case was closed with no outcome and the registers were removed to the safe. However, the morning after, it turned out that the numbers of the buckles had changed.

The Yabloko party stated that at PEC No. 133 in St. Petersburg, a member of the commission with the decisive vote had cut the seals, performed an unknown action with the Optical scan voting system and then sealed them again (watch a video).

Stuffing, 'carousels'1, and bribery of voters

On August 18, Golos received 49 messages from 18 regions about possible ballot stuffing, multiple voting and bribery of voters.

As a rule, such violations are difficult to implement without the assistance of the executive and law enforcement bodies. For example, on the night from Friday to Saturday the portal IvanovoNews published an unusual video and its transcript, which supposedly recorded a dialogue between the head of the city administration Mr. Shuy, and the chairwoman of one of the PECs of the city. In the above dialogue, Shuy tries to convince the chairwoman to 'get down to work' and 'complete the task', while saying 'we will turn off the cameras for you in the morning, and take out the policeman. What else do you need?'

In the Republic of Bashkortostan, at the polling station No. 170, one of the observers accidentally witnessed a telephone conversation of a member of the commission holding the right of decisive vote. On the video, dated September 17 and filmed while packing the safety-bag with ballots, one can hear how the commission member is given instructions on falsifying elections at the polling station: ‘Yes, now we have sorted it out with the lawyers. We all write in the acts the figure I gave you in the task. You don't care of what they thought and counted. No such excuses are accepted. You write the figure I gave you in the task. If they have any questions, let them complain,’ said a voice over the phone. The video was published by the coordinator of Golos in Bashkiria, Renat Fakiev.

Traces of ballot stuffing were found in St. Petersburg. For example, on the evening of September 17 (the case was not included in the previous overview) at PEC No. 1754, a pile of ballots was found in a ballot box. Also, the prevention of stuffing was reported by PEC No. 1806 of St. Petersburg. An unknown person tried to stuff 15 ballots with votes in favour of the self-nominated candidate Marina Lybaneva. Later, the citizen, who tried to do the stuffing, was detained by the police officers who arrived to the place.

The public organization ‘Observers of St. Petersburg’ reported that its members found a suspicious young man at 2 polling stations of the Central district, at PECs No. 2255 and No. 2259. In their opinion, the person could vote at least twice. Later, the young man was detained.

There are reports of possible stuffing, multiple voting or voting for other persons from regions where these issues have already become traditional, and namely from Tatarstan, Stavropolskiy Krai, Kuzbass, Moscow and Tula oblasts, as well as from Yamalo-Nenets autonomous area.

In the knowingly falsification-rich Bryansk Oblast, 9 stuffings were recorded the day before at PEC No. 475 (Kletnya village). Special attention should be paid to how the so-called regional ‘public’ headquarters under the public chamber justified such an obvious falsification. They spoke about the fact that those were allegedly home-based voting ballots and the members of the commission got ‘confused.’ The video shows a completely different picture that clearly brings us to a criminal case. Under the pressure of the evidence, the ballots in the stationary box were invalidated, but no criminal case has yet been initiated.

Problems with falsifications, already traditional for the south of the country, were discovered in the Stavropolskiy and Krasnodarskiy regions. Thus, in Zheleznovodsk of the Stavropolskiy Krai, a voter of PEC No. 420 found that someone had already voted for him. A complaint was filed. As the telegram channel ‘EM Krasnodar’ reports, in Belorechensk, Krasnodarskiy Krai, (presumably) members of PEC No. 0612 were caught ‘counting’ ballots at a bus stop. The people could not explain what they were doing. And at station No. 6071 in Krasnodar, a young man was seen throwing a stack of ballots into the ballot box and hastily leaving the PEC. A pile of 8-10 ballots was found in the ballot box.

Potential falsifications have also been reported in areas, normally considered less subject to this issue. For example, in the Ryazan Oblast, a voter discovered that someone had already voted for him. An advisory PEC member reported the violation to the police officer on duty. But the latter did nothing. In the Novosibirsk Oblast, a group of voters with passports in the same covers was noticed. They were very nervous, when discovered. Many of them left once an observer tried to approach the group. In the regional center Borskoe of the Samara Oblast, ballots, which had been hidden for stuffing, were detected in the back room. The case was submitted to the Investigative Committee in order to initiate a criminal procedure. At PEC No. 462, Ivanovo Oblast, a woman was detained for stuffing ballots. The polling station stopped working. In Krasnoyarsk, at PEC No. 381, a voter discovered that he had already voted.

In the village of Kuvashi (Zlatoust district of the Chelyabinsk Oblast), at PEC No. 129, 70 ballots from the Optical scan voting system were voided. The ballots were invalidated due to the fact that only ballots related to home-based voting had been placed the day before. Moreover, dead voters were found in the lists for the home-based voting.

Of a particular concern are reports of repeated voting in Moscow. Over the past several years, the region with the largest number of voters detected only sporadic violations of the kind. This time, a member of the Territorial Election Commission of the Dorogomilovo district, Ivan Divilkovsky, reported about a double voting of a single voter. The voter first voted at home and then came to the PEC to vote for the second time, although the fact of her primary vote had already been registered.

In the Academic district of Moscow, at PEC No. 2131, the fact of a double voting of a person who had voted both at the LEC premises and outside, was registered. The voter's signature was placed on the request for home-based voting, as well as on the voters register. In addition, on September 17, two voters voted outside the premises, although they were crossed out in the voters register due to their willingness to vote electronically. Also, in most cases, the voter registers were missing any data of voters who had voted outside the premises on September 17.

At the Moscow PEC No. 2867 in Filevsky park, the commission refused to acquaint a member of the higher commission with the register of voters who had applied to vote outside the station. Earlier, at this polling station ballots laying in layers were found in the mobile ballot box No. 2. There was a layer of ballots related to party lists and a layer of ballots related to voting for single-mandate candidates.

This year problems arise once more in the Primorskiy Krai. According to newsbox24, in Vladivostok at PEC No. 652, the candidate and their proxies recorded a significant discrepancy in the general voters turnout. According to observers, the actual number of voters was around 80 people less than the one announced by the election commission. The observers and members of the commission demanded the list of voters in order to find out how many voters were issued ballots to. The PEC chairman refused to do so. On September 18 at PEC No. 613, two voters were found guided by a lady (who probably bribed them). The police did not interfere. Bribery was also registered in Amur, Irkutsk, Moscow and Sverdlovsk oblasts.

Resistance to the work of commission members, observers and media representatives

A tense atmosphere at polling stations, caused by violations, fatigue and lack of a clear understanding of the new election rules related to the 3-day voting, could not but generate a large number of conflicts between commissions, observers and candidates. In total, on September 18, Golos received 263 messages from 37 regions about violations of the rights of commission members, observers and media representatives. Unfortunately, along with the usual attempts to limit their right to move freely around the site, take photos and videos or familiarize themselves with the documents of the commissions, there were reports of the use of brute force and attacks.

The problem of resistance to observers and members of commissions is especially meaningful in the Krasnodarskiy Krai and the Moscow Oblast.

On the evening of September 17, after the closure of the polling station  No. 0277 in Anapa, three unknown persons beat up Alexey Glemeida, an observer from candidate Dmitry Kolomiets. Immediately after the incident, the victim went to the hospital to report injuries and address the police. This was the second attack on the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) activists in Anapa on a single day. In the morning of the same day, gas was sprayed into the face of a proxy of the same candidate.

In Novorossiysk, an attack on Mikhail Okolizdaev from CPRF, a member of the PEC No. 3713 with the right of the decisive vote, was registered. According to his words, on September 18 at about 3:30 PM at the exit from the polling station, 3 unknown persons beat him, damaged his clothes, demanded to leave the voting premises and repeatedly threatened to ‘encounter’ him again in the evening.

At the Krasnodar PEC No. 2004, an observer complained about provokers hindering the exercise of her rights. Two young people lined up in front of the observer Lyudmila, said that they had to ‘guard’ her and needed to get to know her better. The observer published a video of the defiant behaviour of the young men, whose status at the station was not clear. The video shows that the members of the commission were laughing at what was happening.

At PEC No. 1009 of the Krasnodarskiy Krai, the commission ‘removed’ by its sole decision a TEC member with the decisive vote from CPRF. Having done so, the commission exceeded its official powers. At PEC No. 4336, a complaint was filed by the TEC against two members with an advisory vote, who observed the issuance of ballots. The members were accused of violating the anti-COVID recommendations of Rospotrebnadzor.

In the Moscow Oblast, polling stations of several cities were occupied by aggressive young people in sport suits. At several PECs in Lyubertsy there were ‘sportsmen’ who demonstrated aggressive behaviour, started pushing and tried to generate a conflict. They were at the stations, but refused to justify their presence. On August 18, an incident occurred at PEC No. 1164. A member of the TEC Lyubertsy with the right of an advisory vote wanted to inspect the voter lists. The commission did not object, but the athletic-looking guys began to interfere and behaved aggressively. Then a man appeared who began to summon the member of the TEC out of the station ‘for a small talk.’ Similar incidents arose in Korolev and Istra.

The police did not interfere with such actions. Moreover, in Istra, a police squad took two members of PEC No. 743 with an advisory vote to the police station. In Golitsyno, law enforcement officers intimidated an observer and threatened to initiate a criminal case because she had touched the ballot. They also asked her to withdraw her earlier complaint.

In Nakhabino, a member of the commission with an advisory vote, Sergei Shirin, was removed from PEC No. 1174. After he insisted on invalidating one ballot with the additional form of voting, an aggressive man appeared at the station, claiming that Sergei had run over his wife. The policeman asked both men to proceed to the police station in order to clarify the circumstances.

In the city of Pushkino, a PEC member was tried to be neutralized in a ‘softer’ way, and namely by a bribe. A municipal deputy from the United Russia party offered money for ‘cooperation’.

Attacks on commission members and observers were registered in other regions as well. Thus, at the station  No. 1079 in Makhachkala, Ibragim Nazhmutdinov, a member of Yabloko commission, was attacked by a man who introduced himself as an observer from the United Russia. The attacker was dissatisfied with Ibragim's circulation in the polling station. Vitaly Bondarev, a candidate to the Legislative assembly of the Krasnoyarskiy Krai, announced to have received death threats. He managed to catch the young men who had cut the wheels of his car twice. The guys were convoyed to the police station. In Berdsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, the door of the headquarters of independent candidates was sealed with cold welding. On September 18, a meeting with the TV anchor Tatyana Lazareva, who had come to Berdsk to work as an observer, was scheduled to be held in this very room.

There are reports coming from various regions about attempts to remove observers or commission members. In Moscow, a commission decided to deprive one PEC member with an advisory vote of their status. At about 9:00 AM, a person was removed (with the help of the police) from the polling station on the basis on protocol No. 19 (Grouds for exclusion from the commission). The chairman of the commission, Natalya Razova, claimed to have received statements from observers Ms. Mokina (public chamber) and Ms. Melnikova (United Russia) about the fact that Mr. Matveyev was agitating for CPRF. In the Novgorod Oblast, the commission tried to remove a PEC member with an advisory vote because of her complaint about marks on the voter's registry. Both the TEC and PECs members attributed the marks to a typographical fault. Members of PEC No. 2238 of the Chelyabinsk Oblast tried to remove from the premises a member of the PEC with an advisory vote from the Yabloko party. Arina Gurman reported violations and demanded the annulment of the results of the home-based voting. The TEC of the city of Nazran obstructed the submission of documents by a member of the commission with an advisory vote from Yabloko, referring to the fact that the party should have confirmed their appointment. At the same time, the telephones of the TEC were turned off, and the election commission of Ingushetia ignored calls from the proxies of the Yabloko party.

We would like to separately note the involvement of the police in resistance to observers, members of commissions and candidates. Back on September 17 (the fact became known on September 18) in Tatarstan, an observer was detained and taken to the police department due to a false charge of insult (Article 5.61 of the Code of administrative offenses of the Russian Federation). She was accused of demanding to film the filling of safety-bags. Her colleague from Yabloko, a member of the same PEC with an advisory vote, was also taken to the police department and charged with hooliganism (Article 20.1 of the Code of administrative offenses of the Russian Federation). The police confiscated the memory card from the video camera.

In Novosibirsk, a member of the commission No. 1850 with the right of an advisory vote, Svetomir Yun, was detained. Earlier, on his social networks he published video evidence that after the end of the voting day on September 17, his station was not closed and anyone could get in. The police charged him under part 9 of Art. 13.15 of the Administrative Code (‘Abuse of freedom of the media’). This article provides for a fine of up to 100k roubles.

In St. Petersburg, ex-candidate for deputy to the Legislative Assembly Irina Fatyanova was detained. Fatyanova wrote that unknown people were waiting for her near PEC No. 1641. They filmed her and then got into a fight. The police took them to the station along with Fatyanova. Also in St. Petersburg, a member of PEC No. 908 Yaroslav Doscal, detained by the police at a polling station, was taken to the police department. The reason for this was his disagreement with the chairman of the commission Ms. Solovyova, who accused Doscal of violations committed during the home-based voting. Solovyova considered that Doscal brought one unused ballot and, therefore, did not give it to a voter. To prove his being right, Doscal decided to take a picture of the safety-bag containing the ballots he had brought. The chairwoman of the commission called the police. Doscal was tied up, handcuffed and taken to the police station. During the arrest, the policemen broke his glasses.

In Moscow, police detained three TEC members when they recorded an attempt of falsification at PEC No. 36.

Overall statistics

'Golos' Movement conducts short-term observation in 51 regions, as well as at the polling stations operating abroad. The elections are monitored for compliance with generally recognized standards of free expression of will. The results are based on the regional data received from participants, organizers of voting, observers and media representatives. The information is received through various channels, including the hotline 8 800 333-33-50, the ‘Map of violations’ project, mass media, internet, social networks, and messengers.

On the second day of voting dated September 18 (at 9 PM, Moscow time), the 'Golos' Movement received 980 calls. The total duration of calls is of 2 days, 2 hours and 51 minutes. Also 911 messages were received by both the 'Map of violations', and other electronic sources.

As of September 18, the 5 leading regions in terms of reports of possible violations on the 1st day of voting are:

  1. Moscow city – 172
  2. Moscow Oblast – 128
  3. Saint Petersburg city – 86
  4. Krasnodarskiy Krai– 69
  5. Nizhny Novgorod and Chelyabinsk oblasts – 33 each

References:

1 Multiple voting by the same persons at different polling stations – REM

 

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Russian authorities have done everything to make the elections predictable and boring, and voters hardly ever go to them at all.

And yet — should we expect something interesting from the September elections?

REM publishes a translation of the 7x7 interview with expert Alexander Kynev.

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Interview

“I’d really like to live in Russia”

What is the meaning of clandestine electoral campaigns in modern Russia?

Could the experiences of political struggle in other countries be adopted by Russian activists in the future?

Activist and politician Ksenia Bezdenezhnykh on her electoral experience and workplace politics.

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Andrey Turchak and the road from Moscow to the Altai Republic.

A wizard with federal connections

In June, Vladimir Putin appointed Andrey Turchak as the acting head of the Altai Republic, an economically depressive and sparsely populated region.

This appointment was seen as a "punishment" for Turchak's continued good relations with Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company.

Meduza tells how Andrei Turchak is trying to please Altai residents and earn his return to Moscow.

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Kremlin plans to reelect Alexander Beglov as governor of St. Petersburg

In September 2024, Vladimir Putin’s hometown will elect its governor. Most likely, it will again be the Kremlin's protégé Alexander Beglov.

Presidential Administration's documents leaked to the journalists of “Vot tak” indicate that the entire campaign is managed from a single center, and Beglov’s rivals are carefully selected candidates with no chance of winning.

“Vot tak” reveals how Kremlin is running a fake campaign that costs 1.8 mln USD.

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Vladimir Zhilkin. Photo from personal archive provided to 7x7
Interview

"Admitting helplessness is much scarier than the situation in Russia"

Vladimir Zhilkin is an anti-war candidate for the Moscow City Duma. He is a politician, human rights activist and sociologist from Tambov, a provincial city 500 km from Moscow.

REM publishes an abridged translation of Zhilkin's interview for 7x7, where he talks about his campaign, Muscovites' attitudes towards the war, and why it is important to run for election even when there are no free elections.

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Moscow Mayor's Office decided not to allow opposition candidates to City Duma elections and to conduct the campaign quietly

The Moscow parliament should be ‘maximally cleared’ of opposition candidates, with 'Sobyanin's people' taking their place. The election campaign should not attract unnecessary attention.

According to sources of the Verstka media, these are the objectives set by the Moscow mayor's office for the upcoming elections on 8 September.

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Interview

“I’m not going to leave my neighborhood”

Gleb Babich's campaign was one of the most remarkable campaigns in this year's Moscow City Duma elections.

On 16 July, Moscow Election Commission declared 8% of signatures collected by Gleb Babich invalid. The left-leaning urban activist will not be registered as a candidate.

In this interview, he talks about the goals and challenges of his campaign as well as the meaning of collective discussion and action in today’s Russia.

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Election update IX. Russia begins preparations for Unified Voting Day 2024

In September, elections will be held for 13 regional legislatures and 22 governors.

Kremlin is actively preparing by further restricting both the citizens’s voting rights and political competition in 'problematic' regions.

More about the election-related developments of May/June 2024 in this review.

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'They decide who lives, who gets imprisoned, and who gets elected'. Russia bans 'foreign agents' from elections

Recently the parliament of Georgia, despite widespread public unrest and warnings from the EU, passed a law on 'foreign agents', commonly referred to as 'the Russian law'.

In this article, REM discusses the evolution of the legislation on foreign agents in Russia and the recent legislative amendments on the participation of 'foreign agents' in elections.

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"Something's been tweaked somewhere!": Participants in the war in Ukraine ran in Russian elections and failed

Despite being given advantages, only 19 war participants won ‘passable’ parliamentary seats in United Russia primaries.

How was this even possible? Read in the article by Verstka.

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#Commentary

When did it all go so horribly wrong? The Russian opposition turns to introspection

The Anti-Corruption Foundation’s latest documentary series with the heavy title Traitors raises complex questions about the 1990s as a myth and as an actual historical period that had consequences for the present - questions about opposition strategy, communication style, political platform and Russia’s possible future.

In this essay, Dr. Ilya Matveev reflects on each of these questions in turn.

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Russian expatriate voting: Generational divides, gender gap and electoral manipulations

How do Russians living abroad vote and what factors drive their electoral behavior?

In the presidential election 2024, volunteers conducted exit poll surveys in 44 countries where Russian citizens cast their votes.

The results identify the most problematic polling places with significant discrepancies between survey results and official voting results.

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Parties in a coma

The results of presidential campaign 2024 raise questions about the future of the party system.

For the first time in the post-Soviet history of Russia, none of the parliamentary candidates gained more than 5% of the vote - at least according to the official data.

This means the party machinery for mobilizing core supporters is virtually inoperative.

As Putin enters his fifth term, what transformations is Russian party system going through? An analysis by Riddle.

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The new Kadyrov. Who could become the next head of the Chechen Republic?

Although the 47-year-old Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov denies rumors about his potentially fatal illness, media and experts on Russian elites claim that Kremlin has begun to develop a plan for power transfer.

What kind of person does Kremlin need to be in charge of Chechnya, and who are potential candidates for this post – in REM's review.

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Election update VIII. Preparations for the Unified Election Day 2024 have started

United Russia tries hard to nominate war veterans for regional parliaments, the party system continues to decline, while Chechnya acknowledges the use of coercion to vote in the last presidential elections.

More about the election-related developments of March/April 2024 in this review.

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An undesirable cudgel

In the first three months of 2024, Russian authorities declared more organizations “undesirable” than in the full year of 2022.

The law on undesirable organizations was adopted in 2015. Foreign NGOs labeled “undesirable” are banned from establishing legal entities, disseminating information and implementing programs in Russia.

This long read examines how the legislation on undesirable organizations has evolved since then and how the law is enforced today.

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#Commentary

Russian opposition: A strategic impasse

The current state of opposition politics in Russia is paradoxical. Despite commanding considerable resources, the opposition has not had any strategic or even tactical successes for a long time.

In this essay, a political scientist discusses the impasse in which the Russian opposition finds itself and outlines three areas for strategic discussion about its future.

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#E-Day

Vote report. How Kremlin uses social media to control and boost turnout

REM commissioned an independent team of analysts to monitor Russia's leading social networks, VKontakte and Telegram, to show how the Kremlin's propaganda machine works on social media.

Here are the results of social media monitoring during the voting days on March 16-18, 2024.

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Electoral anomaly in Cyprus. How Foreign Ministry and CEC fabricated 40,000 votes for Putin

We collected evidence demonstrating why the presidential vote 2024 in Cyprus can be considered the largest overseas electoral fraud in Russia's modern history.

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#E-Day

Fire, ink, Noon against Putin: How Russians resisted illegitimate elections

Russia's three-day presidential vote 2024 seemed to be the most non-transparent in its history.

In this article, we provide an overview of the civic resistance at polls during the voting days.

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#E-Day, Falsification

22 million fake votes for Putin? How Kremlin rigged the election results 2024

Various methods of data analysis can be used to detect electoral fraud.

Several investigative teams counted that at least 22 million votes — a third of the 65 million ballots cast for Vladimir Putin — were cast fraudulently. Keep reading to find out how it works.

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#E-Day

Statement on the Russian presidential elections 2024

Based on Golos observers' reports, REM summarizes the three-day presidential vote results and reports on electoral violations.

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#E-Day

Express review of the third voting day on 17 March

Based on the Golos report, REM summarizes the key trends observed during the third voting day of the presidential election 2024.

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#E-Day

Express review of the second and beginning of the third voting days on 16-17 March

Based on the Golos report, REM summarizes key trends observed during the second and the beginning of the third voting days of the presidential election 2024.

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#E-Day

Express review of the first voting day on 15 March

Based on the Golos report, REM summarizes the key trends observed during the first voting day of the presidential election 2024.

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Russia uses social media as a major campaigning tool in its presidential elections

REM commissioned an independent team of analysts to monitor Russia's leading social networks, VKontakte and Telegram, to show how the Kremlin's propaganda machine works on social media.

Here we present the main findings, fascinating data, and diagrams revealing the mechanisms behind this massive propaganda machine.

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#E-Day

Election update VII. The campaign results: Russian authorities make the election run dry

In this article, REM summarizes the results of the presidential election campaign 2024, focusing on agitation and administrative mobilization.

The text is based on the respective report published by the election watchdog Golos.

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How the authorities allure Russians to the election to increase the turnout

In regimes such as Russia's, a typical voter lacks motivation to participate in the elections due to the high predictability of the outcome.

At the same time, election organizers need to ensure a high turnout to show that the society is not tired of its national leader even after decades of his rule.

How do they do it? Find out in this long read.

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Navigating opposition strategies in presidential election 2024

As the presidential vote looms, Russian opposition is trying to develop the most sensible voting strategy.

Although the whole setup is highly orchestrated, three options are on the table. What are they?

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Who is Vladislav Davankov – a new hope for opposition in the presidential election?

After the CEC refused to register Ekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin, it became clear - in presidential election 2024, there will be no one on the ballot who opposes the war in Ukraine and criticizes the government.

Nevertheless, prominent opposition leaders continue to agitate Russians to go to the polls and vote for "anyone but Putin". The most obvious choice for many is Vladislav Davankov, a presidential candidate from the New People party.

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In Memoriam: Alexei Navalny (1976 - 2024)

Reflecting on Alexei Navalny's political journey, this text recognizes his substantial impact on Russian elections - for both the past and probably the future.

Navalny played a crucial part in enlightening Russian society about elections through his campaigns, emerging as a symbol of will and hope for the most thoughtful segment of the population.

His legacy leaves an enduring mark on the landscape of Russian politics, which will not disappear with his murder.

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Election update VI. Results of presidential elections 2024 candidates registration

Golos, the Movement in defense of voters' rights, has published a report summing up the results of candidates' nomination and registration during the Russian presidential election campaign 2024.

In this review, we share the main takeaways.

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How voter signatures collection turned into an impassable barrier for the opposition

Boris Nadezhdin, an anti-war candidate for the Russian presidency, was not registered as such by the Russian Central Election Commission.

Being nominee of a non-parliamentary party, he needed to submit 105.000 signatures of Russian citizens in support of his candidacy. He did so, but the CEC invalidated a signification part of them.

We explain how Russian election commissions use the signatures as a tool to eliminate undesirable candidates.

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Statement. Russia has declared REM an ‘undesirable organization’

On 1 February 2024, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office declared the Russian Election Monitor a so-called ‘undesirable organization’.

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Who is Boris Nadezhdin – the anti-war candidate for the Russian presidency?

Many are convinced that Nadezhdin's nomination is a well thought out plan orchestrated by the presidential administration. Even his surname has roots in the word "hope" in Russian.

Yet, these rumors have not prevented Nadezhdin from gaining almost unanimous support of Russian opposition and eventually becoming the only presidential hopeful with anti-war agenda.

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#Commentary

Presidential elections 2024: Does the opposition have a chance?

REM asked a political analyst whether the opposition, both systemic and exiled, has a chance for success in the upcoming presidential election.

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It’s the taking part that counts. What strategy will the opposition have for the presidential elections?

On January 14, representatives of Russian exiled opposition participated in a live broadcast on TV Rain to discuss their strategy for the upcoming elections in March 2024.

REM publishes a short summary of participants’ suggestions.

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Election update V. Putin's presidential campaign has been rigged from the start

Russian CEC adopted regulations for candidates to run for the presidency. Predictably, not all applicants were able to obtain the status of a registered candidate. Meanwhile, the election campaign of incumbent President Vladimir Putin started with violations of electoral legislation.

In this review, we briefly recap the most significant events of late 2023 and early 2024.

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#Commentary

Presidential elections 2024: Is there going to be a change in Russia?

REM asked a political analyst about socio-cultural differences between Russian regions and how they affect the voting results.

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Dissent of the loyal: Women’s protest on the eve of the presidential campaign in Russia

After 600 days of genocidal war in Ukraine, dozens of women - mothers, wives and sisters - attempted to rally demanding the return of their loved ones home.

Any manifestation of dissent is an unlikely event these days in Russia due to the highly repressive environment and immediate crackdown on any instance of public discontent.

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How the Russian opposition is preparing for 2024 presidential elections

Vladimir Putin is to stand for a fifth term. Little doubt remains that Kremlin will make every effort to keep him in power.

Can the upcoming vote become a window of opportunity for a democratic regime change?

Here we explain how the quite fragmented Russian opposition intends to act in the presidential elections 2024 and what it recommends to the voters.

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Election update IV. Russia's presidential campaign is gathering pace

In this report, we recount the most significant November 2023 developments related to the presidential elections 2024.

Among them are Putin's presidential bid, test of e-voting, amendments to legislation on presidential elections and political “cleansings” in Russian regions.

The report is based on a regular news digest by the Golos Movement for Defense of Voters' Rights.

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Ekaterina Duntsova with dove of peace, the symbol of her campaign

Who is Ekaterina Duntsova – a candidate for the Russian presidency?

“Every day the life of ordinary Russians is becoming more difficult. Citizens cannot freely express their opinion if it does not coincide with the position of the authorities; the number of political prisoners is growing, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced out of the country. <...>

“Military operations” on the territory of neighboring states lead to imminent isolation and degradation”, her campaign website says.

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Russian presidential elections 2024: Is resistance at polls possible?

The election on 17 March 2024 will be the first presidential election during the war in recent Russian history. Further, it will be the first presidential election after the constitutional amendments 2020 that nullified the count of consecutive presidential terms and allowed Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.

We asked an expert if there is any room for maneuver for opposition voters, given the unprecedented level of political constraints.

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"We’ll have no time to celebrate the victory before the great lent"

In March 2024 election, Vladimir Putin should receive at least 80% of the votes with a turnout of 80%. According to “Verstka”, these are the benchmarks that the Kremlin's domestic policy bloc is setting for the Russian authorities.

The campaign slogan consists of three words: “Pride. Hope. Confidence”. The heroes of the “Special Military Operation” will also be invited to become Putin's confidants; however, the main focus won’t be set on them or on the war itself.

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#E-Day

Election update III. The presidential campaign in Russia has started

In this one-pager, REM recounts the most significant October 2023 events signaling the start of the campaign.

The text is based on an analytical report prepared by experts and published on the Golos Movement for Defense of Voters' Rights website.

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The first post-Putin elections: What they might look like

How to organize a fair voting system in post-Putin Russia? How elections should be arranged and who should be responsible for this? What principles of representation should be taken into account?

Political scientist Grigory Golosov discusses these and other questions in this article.

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#Commentary

Opposition coalition: A good thing or “To hell with it”?

On 25 September, supporters of Alexei Navalny published a large text in which he rejected a coalition with the rest of the opposition. On the same day, Maxim Katz released a video where he disagreed with Navalny and called on “dissenters” to unite before the presidential elections in 2024.

In this article, political scientist Grigory Golosov explains which of the two strategies is more effective, and whether political coalitions in modern Russia make any sense at all.

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Free elections post-Putin: Not a cure-all

The demand for free elections should be an indisputable cornerstone of any democratic reform program. That is why it is a common belief that the first order of business after the fall of the current regime in Russia should be to conduct free nationwide elections.

Political scientist Grigory Golosov argues that despite the importance of elections, this issue should not be the first on the agenda and explains why.

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Falsification

Online elections in Russia. What to expect from them?

Over the span of several election cycles, e-voting in Russia has proved to be a black box serving the regime’s needs.

After its launch in just a handful of regions, it is now expected to become available to all Russians in the 2024 presidential elections to facilitate fraud and deliver an overwhelming vote share for Vladimir Putin.

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Three politicians who opposed the war and won the elections

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most deputies who openly disagreed with Putin's war were sent to pre-trial detention centers or 'squeezed out' of the country.

However, despite the total suppression of the freedom of speech and assembly, there are still municipal politicians in Russia who openly oppose the war and win local elections.

We share the stories of three such heroes.

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Putin’s electoral theatre: Past, present and future

On 8-10 September 2023, Russia held local elections in two dozen different regions. The Kremlin could have easily canceled them by declaring martial law. Instead, elections were held in the newly occupied areas of Ukraine despite martial law. This suggests that Putin’s regime still finds sham elections useful.

This essay provides a brief history of elections in post-Soviet Russia, exploring the latest example of the Kremlin’s sham democracy and sketches the prospects of political changes.

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#Commentary

Elections without change?

Do observers in Russia possess the tools to maintain independent oversight of elections? How has the war influenced the pre-election campaign? Can the recent vote even be described as an election? What is the Russian government's motive for holding such “elections”, and what might we anticipate from the 2024 presidential campaign?

To find out, read this interview with experts.

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Elections 2023 appear even less free and fair than before

8-10 September in Russia were days of elections of State Duma deputies in four districts, heads of 21 regions, deputies of 16 regional parliaments, 12 city councils of regional capitals, as well as elections in the occupied territories and numerous local elections.

REM summarizes the main conclusions from the observation.

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What are the opportunities for the opposition in Russian elections?

The electoral and civil rights legislation in Russia is getting stricter year by year, leaving very little room for oppositional politics. What can opponents of the regime achieve in the face of constantly introduced obstacles?

In this article, we reflect on whether there is any room left for opposition politicians in Russia, and if it makes sense for them to participate in elections at all.

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Spoilers and doppelgängers in Russian elections

The practice of nominating namesake candidates or similar-looking candidates is widely used in Russian elections.

In this article, we explain how this electoral technology works to mislead the voter and pull votes away from the opposition.

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What are the specifics of Russian parliamentarism?

Do elections have any value in a country with strong repressive machinery where any politician whom the authorities may consider dangerous can be placed in jail?

The author of this article is convinced that elections in Russia present not only a high-cost ritual spectacle simulating democracy but also largely shape the interaction between the state and society.

Keep reading to find out more.

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We are observing a decline in the willingness of parties to participate in elections

Parties are reluctant to participate in elections to regional and municipal assemblies, an expert report concludes. They understand the impossibility of fair competition and do not want to invest effort in fighting the ruling party. Further, the elections in the occupied territories cannot be considered legitimate either legally or procedurally.

Read more about the results of the nomination of candidates for deputies of local and regional parliaments.

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‘Golos’ summarized the nomination of candidates for the 2023 gubernatorial elections

The report’s primary conclusion aligns with expert forecasts: genuine competition between candidates is anticipated in only one region, the Republic of Khakassia, out of the 21 regions that participate in the September elections.

Read this report summary for more statistics and expert insights.

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A slow death of municipal autonomy in Russia

This article delves into the process of elimination of municipal autonomy from the 2010s to the present, leading us through a series of reforms that have helped Kremlin build the so-called ‘power vertical’.

A gradual transition from weak, but somewhat independent local governance toward loyal local appointees contributes to our understanding of how political decision-making works in high-capacity authoritarian states like Russia.

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If there is Putin, there are no debates

This year, Khakassia emerged as the sole Russian region where its governor, communist Valentin Konovalov, invited his adversary, Sergey Sokol from United Russia, to a debate. While the audience hoped for a substantive political exchange, the discourse was dominated by accusations of mudslinging and chasing hype.

This article explores how debates in modern Russia have changed, why gubernatorial candidates avoid open discussions with opponents, and what the future holds for debates.

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Why the war did not become the main topic of the election campaign

In the past, parties and candidates would offer distinct promises to voters, address social concerns, and even position themselves against the government. However, the current campaigns appear lackluster and devoid of a clear message. Even the topic of war is scarcely touched upon by the primary candidates.

This REM review explores why the war in Ukraine hasn't emerged as the predominant topic of the recent election campaign.

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United Russia dominates district electoral commissions, where most electoral fraud originates

A recently published "Golos" report details who holds control over the precinct electoral commissions across Russian regions. REM provides insights into the key findings of the report, emphasizing its significance as we approach the 2023 elections and the 2024 presidential elections.

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Voting under bullets and shells

Holding elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine on 8-10 September is a daunting task for the Russian authorities.

This long read explores how the ongoing military actions affect election preparations and how the Kremlin is making sure that there are no surprises.

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Co-chair of Russian election watchdog Golos detained ahead of elections

Mass searches and interrogations of Golos activists took place across the country. What do we know about that by now?

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Election update II. Legislative changes make it easier for "United Russia" to win elections

On the eve of the elections, Russian authorities adopted a new package of amendments to the electoral legislation. The changes aim to help candidates from the ruling party win in the September elections.

Read more …

#Commentary

"The current government is not going anywhere". On political changes in Russia

Wagner's rebellion showed how weak President Putin's support base is. However, no real political changes followed. Are they even possible in modern Russia, and could elections - an instrument specially invented by the democratic world for this purpose - contribute to the changes?

Read more …

The Just Russia party distances itself from regional elections following the Wagner mutiny

News on Just Russia's withdrawal of electoral activity in the regions began to emerge shortly after Prigozhin's uprising in June 2023. Expert opinions differ: some believe it signals the falling from favor for the systemic opposition, while others argue that the party uses the uprising as a rhetorical cover-up for the internal splits.

Read more …

Election update I. There will be no competition in the Russian gubernatorial elections 2023

In light of the gubernatorial elections to be held in September in 21 Russian regions, we analyze a report on the candidates running for governor. The report concludes that no real competition can be expected in these elections, with few exceptions.

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Approval ratings do not predict change or Why we should stop gazing at political polls from Russia

Prigozhin's failed mutiny on June 24th sparked various speculations concerning his support among the Russian population.

In times of political turbulence, approval ratings become subject to interpretations fueled by the hope of regime collapse. An expert explains why putting so much trust in politicians’ approval ratings originating from today’s Russia might be delusional.

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Playing heroes

All the proclamations about the active involvement of 'war veterans' in politics remain empty rhetoric.

In reality, the 'defenders of Donbass' hat is now worn by the same politicians who have held official positions for years. This verbiage and masquerade are designed not to please the voters but to satisfy one particular person.

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The thing

As it turned out at legal proceedings held on the 9th of March, proving the illegality and inadequacy of the online voting system used in Moscow's elections in 2022 wasn't rocket science or high mathematics. On the contrary, it was as easy as asking for a certificate!

Moscow's i-voting system is not lawfully certified and contradicts legal requirements, court investigations revealed.

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#Commentary

The martial electoral law

Again and again, the Duma adjusts electoral legislation to suit its current needs. This time the main innovation appears to be a "remote election" regime for the occupied territories. This squaring of the circle would allow martial law to stay and elections to be held concurrently.

Read more …

#Commentary

Transcending 'unlimited potential for fraud'

For years, Moscow has been a hard place to win for pro-governmental candidates. Even online voting was hardly enough to secure trouble-free victories because the citizens used the traditional method. For the mayoral campaign of 2023, a new device is invented. 40% of precinct polling stations will evaporate into the Cloud.

Read more …

How to sell Putin for the fifth time

The new marketing plan for selling Putin to the voter is being developed at the Kremlin in secretive "closed seminars". The new packaging for the quarter-century-old merchandise is being tested.
But the campaign's outcome will be decided on the battlefields, not, for the first time in this century, in the Kremlin's cabinets.

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#Commentary

On the death of the Wizard

It's hard to believe that Russian elections, nowadays a synonym of rigging, falsifications and coercion, were almost honest before this man entered the post of the chief electoral officer.
Last week, Churov, also known as the Wizard, passed away, but his malevolent curses will haunt Russian elections for years.

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First elections after mobilisation

Last year the Kremlin cheated people who came to pollings station. The regime said nothing about the upcoming draft. But merely within 10 days after the polling stations were closed, the recruiting centres were unexpectedly open.

It is not possible to repeat that trick again.

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#Commentary

The doomed Code

The Communist Party prepared their Electoral Code for consideration by the Duma. They urge to make the third Sunday in March the primary voting day, eliminate multi-day and distant electronic voting, abolish voting in streets, etc.
Arkady Lyubarev, an electoral expert, shares the secret: Why the Duma will not enact any Code, even an immaculate one.

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Monitoring of the Monitors

Ordinary non-public citizens of Russia become threat number two once they acquire knowledge related to the electoral field and touch the sphere where one of the fundamental myths of the regime is created: the myth of nationwide popular support.

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Slippery AstroTurf of the Kremlin war

A new study of Russian social media proved half of the sabre-rattling messages to be artificial duplicates orchestrated from the single centre. The research has also revealed prolific pro-governmental professional bloggers trying to dominate the Russian Internet community. And yet, they are 1.5 less popular than anti-war authors.

Read more …

#Commentary

E-voting: invisible for observers, invincible for lawyers

The distant electronic voting keeps pushing the limits of our imagination. After the actual process of voting, where the entire process took place outside the view of key participants, came the legal revelation of how the lawmakers preemptively absolved themselves and the Central Election Commission of any responsibility.

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Outstanding resilience to repression and loyalty to democracy

Over 10 years, EPDE has evolved into a professional network of 16 members from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine. EPDE is united in the common goal of improving democratic election processes across Europe and providing a platform for peer learning and professionalisation for its members and experts.

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Il Duce served a la Russe

The Russian people have not named Vladimir Putin Il Duce (‘The Leader’). He has been identified as such, just as earlier in history in Italy, by the elite. And as in Italy, the elimination of fascism can only be finalised by integrating the ex-fascist country into the Western world.

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Unprecedentedly explicit: election observers are human right defenders!

The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders and on the right to freedom and peaceful assembly and of associations issued a statement on 27 October 2022 explicitly recognising citizen and international election observers as human rights defenders.

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#Commentary

The Emperor's secondhand clothes

By going to war in Ukraine, the Putin regime tried to be what it pretended to be, but its facade crashed into reality. Any myth is effective as long as its creator does not allow it to clash with reality. Skilled myth-makers know this well and guard their creations, and they do not, of course, believe in their own myths. Putin observed these rules for a long time, but he gradually began to believe in the myths that he and his entourage created and then acted in accordance with them.

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Those who dared - II

We continue to acquaint our readers with those rare, brave individuals who challenged the Putin regime at home during elections in September 2022, when the regime began to receive the first sobering blows at the front in Ukraine.

What happened with the reckless candidates after the elections? How did they survive the ordeal? Who managed to stay, and who had to flee the country? You will learn it in the following, the final part of this coverage, which is currently being written exclusively for REM.

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Serfs of the State

Today we will discuss budgetary workers and their role in Putin's regime. Who are the "budgetniki"? Are they the backbone of Putin's regime? In what countries and under what conditions are elections susceptible to manipulation through budgetary workers?

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Those who dared

On 12 September 2022, President Zelensky announced the liberation of 6,000 km2 in a massive counter-offensive. For President Putin, the day was the beginning of a period of humiliating defeats, of the disgraceful retreat of his army and a chaotic attempt at mobilisation.

But up to this very day, there had been an election campaign in Russia. In the choking atmosphere of "special military operation", under censorship and repression for any word of dissent, there were amazing people who dared to challenge the System.

Read more …

EPDE statement on house searches of Russian election observers

EPDE strongly condemns this act of repression, intimidation, and unlawful interference into citizens' constitutional right to free elections

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It is impossible to establish the genuine will of the voters, says Golos

The election outcomes were achieved in unfree, unequal election campaigns, in an environment of restrictions on the right to be elected for a substantial number of citizens and on fundamental political rights. Under such conditions, it is impossible to establish the actual will of the voters.

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#E-Day

The third voting day in the express overview by the Russian nonpartisan election monitor Golos

By the end of voting, tension at the polling stations was growing. The number of reports claiming that commission members, police and unauthorised persons put psychological pressure on observers has also increased.

Read more …

#E-Day

The second voting day in the express overview by the Russian nonpartisan election monitor Golos

According to Golos Movement, the main trends for the second voting day were conflicts between members of commissions and civic observers, signs of possible falsifications, and bribery and coercion of voters.

Read more …

#E-Day

The first voting day in the express overview of the Russian nonpartisan election monitor Golos

Main election day trends: pressure on election observers and candidates, bloated turnout in Distance E-Voting, coerced voting, failure of the Electronic Voter Register, violation of the rights of election committee members, observers and mass media, fabrication of fakes and attempts to discredit citizen observers.

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The 2022 elections as the last refuge of the scoundrel

Without the successes in Ukraine or on the propagandistic internal front, these elections are the last opportunity for the Kremlin to assert the concept of business-as-usual, to ensure the grip on regional assemblies. It is vital in the anticipation of an economic slump, Moreover, the new municipal structure needs a strong hand. Finally, it is a testing ground for “distant voting”, impermeable for observers.

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Falsification

The ruling Russian Party of Dead Souls

This investigation is both a quantum leap in electoral observation and the most severe blow to the ruling party's reputation. As you’ll see, the findings even question who is the genuine ruling party in Russia. It was such a severe blow that Ms Pamfiliva, the chairwoman of the Russian Central Election Commission, personally reported the case to President Putin within a week of the publication.

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Putin’s Second Front: no peace for the wicked

The failure of the PR campaign uncanny resembles the collapse of the military campaign on the battlefields. A new media monitoring report on "special operation" describes the unexpected resistance of the Russian population to a heavy propagandistic barrage.

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No European politicians to whitewash Kremlin’s fraudulent elections or pseudo-referenda

EPDE calls on all national and regional Parliaments of the EU, the European Parliament, the PACE and the OSCE (OSCEPA) to undertake measures preventing their members from participating in illegitimate “election observation”, organized to whitewash illegal electoral processes.

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Wartime elections

The upcoming E-day in Russia: deprived of the freedom of speech and party lists, elections are still the only way to grasp the citizens' attitude towards authorities.

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Falsification

Elections "in accordance with the plan"

Final part of electral fraud revelations made by the former vice-mayor of a millionaire Russian city.

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Elections in a close order formation

Essential changes to Russia’s electoral legislation were introduced after its aggression against Ukraine. Indeed, one might discern some military flavour in these adjustments: discipline, unification, centralisation, monopolisation of chain of command, and elimination of tools of civil control. Dr Arkady Lyubarev, candidate of legal sciences, co-author of federal and Moscow electoral legislation, and editor in chief of the draft Electoral Code, gives his assessment of the further deterioration of the electoral system in Russia.

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Falsification

The nine aggrieved elects

This story is quite exceptional. We’ve never heard the testimony of electoral fraud from a witness of such high administrative rank and political status: the former vice-mayor of a millionaire city, a former head of administration of a district, a member of the regional Political Council of the United Russia Party, ruling political organisation in the country, the Secretary of the district Political Council of the party and finally, a former KGB and FSB officer. Quite an informant!

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One must prepare for negative consequences – OPORA

The invaders have not been consistent in governing the temporarily occupied territories. L/DPR militants ‘appoint’ nonames to nonexistent offices in some places. In others, there are talks of holding a pseudo-referendum, and PR campaigns are run elsewhere to an incorporation in the occupied Crimea. The ‘people’s republic’ format will not work this time. However, it is still worth preparing for a negative scenario.

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Woodcut of flagellants (Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493)

To Russian opposition after the disaster of 2022: Enlighten, not repent

A. Kynev: All these hand-wringing and pathetic calls to each end everybody to repent is the utter public suicide of the opposition and a priceless gift to the government. No one has ever come to power or won an election on the pretext of humbling themselves and repenting. Therefore, this approach is an absolute dead-end and insane endeavour, at least from the electoral point of view.

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Ballotboxes under a military camouflage net. Collage by REM

Elections during Russia’s ‘Special operation’

The Russian authorities keep emasculating the institution of elections and modelling it after the Belarusian version. Notably, these changes do not match too well with the allegedly increased popular support for the Russian authorities against the backdrop of the war. Instead, it demonstrates a lack of confidence that the autumn elections will go smoothly.

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Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos'. By Photobank Moscow-Live
#Commentary

From election observers to ‘foreign agents’: how voters' rights defenders of the ‘Golos’ Movement are persecuted

Since September 2021, twenty regional coordinators and experts of the 'Golos' Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights were added to the registry of foreign media outlets performing the functions of 'a foreign agent'. Here's an overview of how election observers are being targeted and persecuted.

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ECHR Courtroom. Image by Adrian Grycuk

The League of Voters appeals to the ECHR

The 'League of Voters' Foundation appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for an interim measure requiring the Russian authorities not to liquidate it pending the ECHR proceedings on its earlier complaint. Should the liquidation proceed, it would make all future legal activities of the Foundation impossible: the organization would be unable to rent office space, collect donations, will lose all of its property, and would be forced to cease its human rights and educational activities.

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Sobyanin's report at the Moscow City Duma. Photo by the Moscow Mayor's Office
#Commentary

Internet voting and shortage of candidates: how 2022 Moscow municipal elections will be held

On September 11, 2022, municipal elections will be held in 125 of Moscow's 146 districts. It is not yet known whether these elections will be a multi-day process, but it is already certain that online voting will be used again and that parties that are preparing for the elections are already facing candidate shortages. Yekaterina Grobman reviews the current situation and what we can expect in 2022.

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The Kremlin. Image by Pxhere

‘Fortress’ Plan

Stanislav Andreychuk on how the Kremlin is changing laws that regulate Russia’s polity and elections to maintain the status quo.

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Plenary chamber of the Council of Europe's Palace of Europe. Image by PPCOE
#Commentary

Questionable credentials of the Russian Delegation to PACE after flawed Duma elections 2021

Independent election experts have described the 2021 Duma elections as the dirtiest elections in Russia's history. The lack of public control, the deprivation of millions of Russian citizens of their passive suffrage, massive manipulation of results through e-voting, holding of elections on the annexed territory of Crimea, and the inclusion of voters from the occupied Eastern Ukraine put the legitimacy of the current State Duma and the new PACE delegation under question.

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Detained Anti-corruption Foundation and Newcaster.TV staff, 2017. Photo by Ruslan Leviev

2021 Results. Laws of the year

The passing year built on legislative trends of the previous one and even brought about many innovations in censorship, limitations of online activities, and infringements on privacy. Such provisions include multiple prohibitions related to the Great Patriotic War, the ‘law against Anti-Corruption Foundation’, and infamous QR codes.

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Policemen block a street in Moscow. Photo by Sergey Korneev

On the liquidation of International Memorial

On 28 December 2021 Russia's Supreme Court ruled to close International Memorial. The lawsuit, filed by the Prosecutor General's Office, referred to a missing 'foreign agent' designation on some of the materials produced by International Memorial. This is only a formal pretext, though, and the court hearings showed that these allegations were groundless.

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Rally for the right to vote in Moscow (2019-07-27). Photo by Ilya Varlamov

Things Will Not Be The Same: OVD-Info on the Liquidation of Memorial NGOs

OVD-Info's statement on the liquidation of its partner - the 'Memorial' Human Rights Center.

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Navalny's Election Headquarters. Image by Dmitry Rozhkov

Departed Russia of the Future

Hardly any of Navalny's key allies currently remain in Russia. The Insider interviewed former coordinators of Navalny's regional headquarters to find out why and how they left, what they do in exile, and under what conditions they are willing to return to Russia.

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Basmanny District Court. Image by Photobank Moscow Live

Russia is liquidating the League of Voters

On December 8, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow ruled to liquidate the 'League of Voters' Foundation. Its leaders believe that the ruling is politically motivated and is aimed to destroy the organization which is a partner in the 'Golos' Movement and supports the training of independent citizen election observers in Russia.

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State Duma. Image by Moscow Live/flickr

Created and (or) distributed: Discriminatory aspects of the application of legislation on ‘foreign agents’

OVD-Info reviews the newly expanded 'foreign agents' law to identify and analyze discriminatory aspects of the legislation and its application.

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2019 Moscow City Duma election. Image by Krassotkin

Undercover: How observers are trained at the Civic Chamber of Moscow

A member of the 'Golos' Movement for the Defense of Voters' Rights recounts their experience observing elections on behalf of the Moscow Civic Chamber. According to the activist, the institution appears to purposefully instruct observers in such a manner as to limit their ability to make a real difference at the polling stations.

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Russian coach at Helsinki Central Railway Station. Image by Antti Leppänen

The Party's gold. How United Russia misappropriates Russian Railways’ money under the guise of "donations"

Last year United Russia collected a record amount of donations from legal entities, 4.8 billion rubles. The Insider learned that the party received about half of this money from major Russian Railways contractors, some of which seemingly could not afford to make such "donations". Despite claiming to channel funds towards charity and fighting the Coronavirus, the party spent it on the maintenance of its apparatus and election campaigning.

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Russian flag with gloomy clouds. Image by Pxhere

‘Golos‘ Movement supports Memorial and calls for an emergency civic meeting

Russian authorities have moved to liquidate the International Historical Educational Charitable and Human Rights Society 'Memorial' and its affiliate, Russian Human Rights Centre 'Memorial'. The 'Golos' Movement calls for solidarity with Russia's longest-standing human rights organization.

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Moscow, the Kremlin and Red Square. Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg

Elections, totalitarian style

The political bloc of the Moscow Mayor's office has begun campaign preparations for the 2022 municipal elections. Meduza breaks down the key points in the preliminary campaign plan here.

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Man working on a computer in the dark. Image by Comstock

Golos' statement on the online voting in Russian elections

Following the observation of the September 19, 2021 elections, the 'Golos' Movement stated that 'the current electronic voting system does not meet the high standards of public accountability of electoral procedures', which the Russian Constitution and legislation establish as mandatory. Despite this position, some promoters of online voting in Russia have been claiming otherwise.

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Ufa, Bashkortostan. Photo by Sasha India/flickr

Election Day-2021 in Bashkiria: 'Put in the target number I set'

Preliminarily evaluating the elections to the Ufa City Council and the State Duma in the Republic of Bashkortostan, the 'Golos' Movement regretfully cannot recognize the elections as truly fair, i.e., fully compliant with the Constitution, the laws of the Russian Federation, the laws of the Republic of Bashkortostan, and international election standards.

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Krasnodar 2021 election results, by S. Shpilkin

Statistical analysis of elections in Kuban

According to the analysis by Sergey Shpilkin, 889 thousand out of 1.7 million votes for United Russia in Kuban do not fall into the normal mathematical distribution. This can result from direct falsifications, pressurized voting of the employees of state-owned enterprises, public institutions, and local authorities, and the use of an administrative resource.

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CPRF rally in Moscow, 2011. Photo by Wikimedia

When they came for the Communist Party: Arrests, sieges, and pressure on supporters after the State Duma elections

The Communist Party received 19% of the votes in the last elections to the State Duma. After that, the party's supporters faced unprecedented pressure for the 'systemic opposition.' They were detained, fined, sentenced to administrative arrests, and blocked in the party premises. CPRF continues to challenge the election results and demand an investigation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

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Russian State Duma raises retirement age. Image by Wikimedia

Hot potato: Nearly a fifth of Russia’s new State Duma deputies owe their jobs to secondhand mandates

On Tuesday, October 12, the new convocation of Russia's State Duma convened for its first session. Roughly a fifth of all lawmakers — 88 of 450 deputies — received their seats from higher-ranked candidates on party lists, winning the jobs because others didn't want them.

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Election observation headquarters. Photo by Golos

'Golos' Movement: It won't be easy, but we can do it

Statement of the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"' on inclusion of its members into the Foreign Agents Registry, October 5, 2021.

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Map of Violations, Screenshot Oct. 8, 2021

Map of violations: three record-setting days

In total, from the beginning of voting dated September 17, 'Map of Violations' by the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"' published 4592 reports. The Map is a project that collects information about possible electoral violations using the principle of crowdsourcing – observers, voters, members of commissions may report alleged violations witnessed during the electoral campaigning or voting using a submission form on the website or a telephone hotline.

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REV-2021. By Nackepelo

First Findings of the Moscow's Remote Electronic Voting Technical Audit

The "remote electronic voting" or online voting held in the Russian capital during the September 17-19, 2021 elections was scandalous, to say the least. In response, two groups have been formed by the Russian public to scrutinize the results.

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Regions by level of electoral fraud

Levels of electoral fraud in the Russian regions

In order to help assess the outcomes of 2021 State Duma elections, the 'Movement in the Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"' provides a reference analysis, dividing Russian regions into six groups based on the level of falsifications in the federal elections of 2016 and 2018 and in the all-Russian voting in 2020.

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#Commentary

Remote electronic voting: results cannot be verified

A scandal in the capital: lengthy vote tabulation, a radical overhaul of the whole election results, and shut down of the observers' node.

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"We don't trust Churov - we trust Gauss". Image by Golos

2021 State Duma elections: first statistical estimates

Sergey Shpilkin analyzes data from 96,840 polling stations that cover 107.9 million registered voters out of 109.2 million on the list. His analysis demonstrates that at the polling stations where the results appear genuine, the turnout is on average 38% and the United Russia's share of votes is between 31% and 33%.

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Voting. By Photobank Moscow-Live

Preliminary findings of observation of the September 19, 2021, State Duma elections

This is a preliminary statement on findings of observation on the main voting day, September 19, 2021, by the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos".' Golos ran long-term and short-term observation of all stages of the campaign. In the course of the elections, the united call center's hotline received 5,943 calls. The 'Map of Violations' received 4,973 reports of alleged violations by noon 20 September, Moscow time, including 3,787 on the voting days.

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Voting. Image by Photobank Moscow-Live. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Voting. Image by Photobank Moscow-Live

Voting Day II: A Brief Overview

This is a brief overview of election monitoring findings on the Second Voting Day, September 18, 2021 by citizen observers of the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"'.

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Duma elections. by George Shuklin, CC BY-SA 2.5

Voting Day 1: A Brief Overview

This is a brief overview of election monitoring findings on the First Voting Day by citizen observers of the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"'.

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Campaigning in Samara. 2011 elections. Image by Golos

The election campaign and administrative mobilization of voters in September 19, 2021 elections

The September 19, 2021 elections are marked by growing pressure on media and individual journalists, attempts at blocking information about "Smart Voting", and massive coercion of voters to vote and register for e-voting and mobile voting. In parallel, social media has been growing in importance for years as a space of more freedom and an alternative information channel. Here are the main findings of the report that focuses on the impact of these two antipodal trends.

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Victor Vasnetsov. Three bogatyrs (Medieval Russian Heroes). Photo by flickr user paukrus

'The three heroes': more than a third of social media mentions are related to United Russia, CPRF, and the New People party

This report covers the monitoring of social networks from the 10th to the 11th week of the election campaign (August 23 to September 5) to the Russian State Duma, scheduled for September 19, 2021.

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Russian passports. Image by MediaPhoto.Org, CC-BY-3.0

Residents of Russia-Occupied East Ukrainian Territories Encouraged to Vote in 2021 State Duma Elections

One aspect of the 2021 Russian parliamentary elections that differentiates them from previous federal elections is the potential participation in the voting process of dozens of thousands of people located on the Ukrainian territories outside of control of the Ukrainian authorities and not recognized as part of Russia by the Russian Federation itself.

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Map of Violations Update Sept 6-12. Image by REM

Arrests, bribery, threats

This is the seventh overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the 'Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos"' between September 6 and September 12. Since the beginning of the election campaign, 945 messages from 72 regions have been published on the Map.

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Map of Violations Update - Aug 30-Sept 1

Arrests, arson, and being fired for refusing to register for remote voting

This is the sixth overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' between August 30 and September 5. In total, from August 30 to September 1, 125 messages have been received by the Map.

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Social media. Image by Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

Two universes: unlike on television, in social networks, United Russia and the Communist Party are almost head-to-head

This report covers the monitoring of social networks from the 5th to the 9th week (July 20 - August 22) of the election campaign to the Russian State Duma, scheduled for September 19, 2021.

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Vladimir Putin on XVII congress of United Russia in 2017. Image by Wikimedia Commons

Vladimir Putin plans to win Russia’s parliamentary election no matter how unpopular his party is

Despite its dismal approval rating, Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruling political party can – and likely will – win a constitutional majority in September's legislative elections.

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Map of Violations, Golos website. Screenshot - Sept. 1, 2021

‘Imaginary’ campaign boards and an assignment to vote in prisons

This is the fifth overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' between August 23 and August 29. In total, 100 messages have been received by the Map during this period.

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2019 Rally for right to vote in Moscow. Image by Wikimedia Commons

Consequences of the ‘law against the Anti-Corruption Foundation’: opposition candidates are denied participation in elections

The Moscow City Court has designated the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Alexey Navalny's Headquarters and the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation as 'extremist' organizations. Inter alia, it implies the prohibition to participate in elections.

The authorities have proceeded to banning pro-opposition candidates from running to the State Duma and other legislative bodies on a pretext of involvement in Navalny's projects.

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State Duma elections in Sochi, Dec 4. 2011. Image by flickr/Andrew Amerikov

The outcomes of nomination and registration of candidates to the State Duma of the Russian Federation

The elections of the State Duma of Russia of the eighth convocation are marked by considerable tightening of rules for candidate nomination and registration. In fact, the rules are much worse than in 2016, when the current membership of the parliament was elected. Run on the background of harsh restrictions on freedom of expression and information and freedom of assembly and association, the elections are accompanied by a political crackdown against the most active pro-opposition citizens.

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Map of Violations, Golos website. Screenshot - Aug. 20, 2021

Pressure on voters and state control over social media accounts

This is the fourth overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the Movement for the Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' between August 16 and August 22. In total, 98 messages have been received by the Map in that period.

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Behind a camera. Photo by Bicanski on Pixnio

Uneven access and unbalanced coverage: media monitoring findings after eight weeks of the campaign

Equality of rights of candidates in media coverage of their election campaign is one of the most important conditions for holding free and democratic elections. For a significant part of Russians, television remains to be one of the main sources of information. During the election campaign, the influence of television in shaping the attitude of the majority of voters towards elections and candidates is often decisive. Here is a summary of monitoring findings for the five main federal television channels during the first eight weeks of the campaign.

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Map of Violations, Golos website. Screenshot - Aug. 20, 2021

PCR tests for voters and candidate flights at public expense

This is the third overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the Movement for the Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' between August 9 and August 15. Since the beginning of the election campaign, 452 messages from 62 regions have been published on the Map.

 

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Screenshot of Golos' statement cover image

Statement on the continuation of the work of the Movement 'Golos' after being included in the 'Foreign agents' registry

On August 18, the Ministry of Justice of Russia included the Movement 'Golos' as the first unregistered organisation into the registry of unregistered public associations performing the functions of a foreign agent. Here is the translation of their statement.

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Russian regional elections in 2018. Image by Wikimedia Commons

Political and Legal Peculiarities of September 2021 Regional and Local Elections

According to the CEC data as of 9 July 2021, 4,370 elections and referenda are scheduled for 19 September 2021, including elections to the State Duma, nine gubernatorial elections (new heads will be elected in three more regions), 39 elections to regional parliaments, and 11 elections of representative bodies of regional centres. Here's an overview of legal regulations and peculiarities of these races.

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A screenshot of a live broadcast of the voting process. Image by 'Golos' Movement.

Open appeal of the 'Golos' Movement to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin

In 2021, the Russian Central Election Commission decided to scrap open video broadcasts from the polling stations – a feature of Russian elections since 2012. The Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' has appealed to the President to help overturn this decision.

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Map of Violations, Golos website. Screenshot - Aug. 12, 2021

The administrative resource is gaining momentum, and independent candidates continue to face registration denials

This is the second overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the Movement for the Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' between August 2 and August 8.

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The Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Duncan represented the UK at the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg, Germany, 8-9 December 2016.
OSCE Flags. Photo by Alex Hammond / FCO. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
#Commentary

Russian elections again without OSCE observation

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Parliamentary Assembly will not deploy international election observation missions to the 2021 State Duma elections due to major limitations imposed on the institutions. Announcing the decision, ODIHR Director noted that the ability "to independently determine the number of observers necessary for us to observe effectively and credibly is essential to all international observation."

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Reporter's notebook. Photo by 2008 Roger H. Goun. CC BY 3.0
#Commentary

CEC restricts journalists' access to the electoral process

On 28 July 2021, the Central Election Commission adopted a new media accreditation procedure that restricts media access to observe and report on the electoral process. The new rules violate the freedom of media editorial policy and may significantly reduce the transparency of the election process.

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Map of Violations, Golos website. Screenshot - Aug. 5, 2021

‘Extremists’, ‘foreign agents’, and the abuse of administrative resource

This is the first overview of reports of possible violations of electoral legislation gathered via the 'Map of Violations' by the Movement for the Defense of Voters' Rights 'Golos' between June 22 and August 1.

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Ballot stuffing, elections March 18, 2018, Lyubertsy. Image - Golos
#Commentary

No public video broadcast from the polling stations during the September elections

Less than two months before the elections, the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) decided to scrap open video broadcasts from the polling stations, which have been the feature of Russian elections since 2012.

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Ballot box for voting on Constitutional Amendments 2020. Photo - Wikimedia Commons

19 times: How the election law was changed before the 2021 State Duma elections

Since the last State Duma elections in 2016, lawmakers have introduced 19 amendments to the election law. In the year leading up to the State Duma elections in September 2021 alone, seven significant legislative amendments have been introduced, six of them in less than four months before the start of the campaign.

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TV reporter, Bryansk. Photo - pxfuel

No tolerance for dissent: the state of Russian media ahead of 2021 elections

After almost a decade of crackdowns on big players, the landscape of critical journalism in Russia is dominated by local or smaller niche projects. But if the 2020-2021 trend of relentless attacks on media, journalists, and bloggers continues, many of these small projects are not likely to survive into the autumn. The regime makes it pretty clear that it no longer intends to tolerate any dissent.

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"1941- ssshhh!" - Image by James Vaughan / flickr

What are "foreign agents" and "undesirable organizations"?

The laws on "foreign agent" and "undesirable organizations" continue to hamper the work of affected organizations, stigmatize and damage their reputation, and isolate the civil society from international cooperation and support. What are these provisions and how are they being applied?

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Vladimir Putin Speech at State Duma plenary session 2020-03-10. Image - Wikimedia Commons

Five years of silence: More than 20 State Duma lawmakers haven't said a word in parliament since they were elected in 2016

The Russian State Duma's seventh convocation is coming to the end of its five-year term. And according to a new report from iStories and Znak.com, dozens of its deputies haven't said a word in a parliamentary session since they were elected in 2016. Others haven't put forward a single bill. Be that as it may, this hasn't stopped these lawmakers from collecting high salaries and planning to put their names on the ballot for the State Duma election coming up in September.

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Arrest by the police. Image - Wikimedia Commons

Deprival of passive suffrage – who cannot run in the 2021 Duma Elections and why

According to election observers, recent amendments further limiting citizens' passive suffrage constitute a "fifth wave" of depriving Russians of their right to stand for election since the collapse of the USSR. New restrictions have a particular impact on politically active citizens.

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Programming, computing and information concept. Image - Peshkova, Getty Images Pro

Online Voting Testing in the Russian Federation: Observers’ Assessment

In May, the Russian Federation has tested a new system of remote electronic voting. The Movement in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" observed the testing phase, took part in the voting, and shared their conclusions and recommendations in a respective report.

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"I have the right to choose!" Photo - EPDE.

Conditions for Citizen Election Observation in the Russian Federation Ahead of the 2021 Duma Elections

Opportunities for independent citizen election observation and civil society space in general have been shrinking steadily in Russia over the past decade. Recently, further restrictions have been adopted that limit the ability of citizens to independently monitor electoral processes.

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May 1st Demonstration of the Communist Party, 2012. Image by _TMY2892/flickr

How Authorities Stripped Russians Of Choice

Over the past 14 years, the authorities have blocked 120,000 candidates from participating in elections of various levels, depriving millions of Russian citizens of the right to choose their representatives.

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A demonstration in Moscow. Image - by Andrey, Pxhere.

Hundreds of Thousands of Extremists

Russia has finally outlawed Alexey Navalny's political and anti-corruption movement. Here's how the crackdown affects activists, journalists, and ordinary supporters.

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Plenary meeting of the State Duma. Image - Wikimedia Commons
#Commentary

The Law Prohibiting People Involved in Activities of Extremist Organizations from Participating in Elections Is Adopted

The President of Russia approved the law prohibiting those who are "involved" in the activities of an extremist organization from running in elections.

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Electoral headquarters of Alexey Navalny. Photo - Wikimedia Commons

Now Extremists. How Alexei Navalny's Supporters May Be Persecuted

On June 9, the Moscow City Court, based on the charges by the Moscow Prosecutor's Office, recognized the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights, and the headquarters of Alexei Navalny as extremist organizations. Now, many citizens are under a threat of pressure and persecution.

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Meeting of Central Election Commission Chair Ella Pamfilova with OSCE / ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci. Photo - CEC

Implementation of OSCE/ODIHR Recommendations to Russia Following 2003-2018 Federal Elections

Between 2003 and 2018, OSCE/ODIHR published 139 recommendations on how to improve the conduct of elections in Russia. In the run-up to the State Duma elections in 2021, Russia has fully implemented just over 10% of them. Some have been tackled more promptly than others.

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Man using computers. Photo by: Lisa Fotios from Pexels

Online Elections in Russia: Manipulating Votes in a New Digital Realm

Ahead of the State Duma election on September 19, 2021, Russia just tested its remote electronic voting system. While the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC) is preparing the report about the results of the test, election monitors say Russia's electronic voting system is a black box.

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Alexei Navalny. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

New Legislation Aims To Block Opposition Candidates

The Russian authorities are expected to orchestrate a result in the upcoming State Duma elections that will give United Russia a clear majority of seats. This does not mean, however, that the manipulation of the electoral process by the authorities is complete. In a limited number of competitive districts, true opposition candidates including candidates who are associated with Aleksei Navalny have a real chance of winning if they are allowed to run. In recent weeks, steps have been taken to block these 'undesirable' candidates from participating.

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Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russian Federation during April 21, 2021, meeting. Photo by: CEC.
#Commentary

The new-old Central Election Commission: an authentic renewal or a superficial touch up?

On March 19, 2021, the new composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation was revealed. Out of 15 members, eight new people joined the CEC. In particular, the new Commission has been 'reinforced' by bureaucrats from the Presidential Administration, the State Duma, and the Civic Chamber (a consultative civil society institution closely linked to the government).

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