The atmosphere in the runup to Russia’s so-called elections this weekend is so restrictive that for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the OSCE has decided not to send observers.
The main independent Russian election observer has been declared a foreign agent. Opposition candidates, many facing arrest and imprisonment, are fleeing the country. Websites are being blocked and Western tech companies like Google and Apple are being pressured to remove political content and apps the Kremlin doesn’t like.
When it comes to Russia’s upcoming State Duma elections, there is no doubt that the fix is in – the Kremlin has the tools and the will to manufacture the result it wants. But Russian elections are less about the results, which are largely preordained, and more about the ritual and the theater. And what is not clear is whether Vladimir Putin’s regime will be able to control the election’s narrative.
On the Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Konstantin Eggert about what to expect.