State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow.... An ambulance arrived to try to

Russia has passed a new law meaning citizens who spread what it described as" fake" information about the military can be jailed for up to 15 years.It comes as the Kremlin continues to insist that its war with neighbouring Ukraine is a" special operation". Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is continuing to crack down on protesters taking to the streets to demonstrate against the conflict, which entered its eighth day on Friday. Meanwhile, schools and media organisations have been ordered no

In the months before this week's parliamentary election in Russia authorities unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition, making sure that the best-known and loudest Kremlin critics didn’t run. Some were barred from seeking public office under new, repressive laws.... Some were forced to leave the country after threats of prosecution.... 19 election that is widely seen as a key to President Vladimir Putin’s effort to cement his hold on power....

The State Duma elections were a triumph for Sergei Kiriyenko’s electoral machine, though even it

The move drew an angry response from the Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who accused the United

The annexation of Crimea in March 2014 fundamentally changed Russia’s political climate: support for Vladimir Putin’s regime rose and remains high, despite a certain cooldown in recent months. Discontent is building but remains far from boiling point, and we are unlikely to see large-scale protest

Today, politicians are talking more about the Western threat and hostile encirclement than about the domestic political situation. This is due to the lack of new ideas and is a sign of the intellectual impotence of the Russian ruling class.

Vladimir Putin, in his new costume, has been preparing himself to be the captain, once again, of the Russian transatlantic ship, sailing from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The Russian people will definitely benefit from this, and Russian democracy will flourish in its own way.

The authorities are faced with the fiendish task of convincing democratic-minded voters that there is no point in voting, while making every effort to boost turnout among the conformist, state-dependent electorate. The significance of Russia’s impending parliamentary elections is generally either

Joint Press Release 10. 07.