Russian Election Monitor

In-depth coverage and analysis of Russian elections.
#russianelections

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Cleanup at the Russian Ministry of Defense and the future of Putinism — new op-ed by @IlyaMatveev_

Since spring 2024, a completely unprecedented sweep has targeted high-ranking Russian officials, including several deputies of former Defense Minister Sergei #Shoigu. Nearly one-third of the ministry’s leadership team has been fired or imprisoned. Shoigu himself was moved to the post of Secretary of the Security Council, and his patronage network has been destroyed.

The combination of Shoigu’s prominence in national politics and the thoroughness of his ministry's purge is unique in #Putin’s Russia. Dr. Ilya Matveev from the Public Sociology Laboratory is convinced that a close examination of this process, resembling the repetition of Stalinist terror, may reveal new information about the prospects of the Russian regime.

Read his new opinion piece for REM: https://t.co/e5gfeNiBOW

#RussianPolitics #Putinism #Authoritarianism

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

❗️ 98% Chance Shoigu Will Be Arrested Next — Investigative Journalist Ilya Rozhdestvensky (@dossier_center)

Investigative journalist Ilya Rozhdestvensky said there is a “98% probability” that Sergei Shoigu will eventually be arrested following the detention of former Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov.

Speaking on The Breakfast Show, Rozhdestvensky said Tsalikov was the only person Shoigu tried to protect “with all his strength,” because “Tsalikov knows absolutely everything about Shoigu.” According to the journalist, investigators are likely to obtain testimony about Shoigu’s alleged criminal activities from Tsalikov.

The purges within the Russian Defense Ministry began after Shoigu’s dismissal in 2024. Since then, several key figures from his inner circle have been arrested, including:
🔴 Timur Ivanov, described by investigators as the group’s “treasurer”
🔴 Vadim Shamarin, responsible for military communications
🔴 Yuri Kuznetsov, a personnel chief
🔴 Ruslan Tsalikov, described by investigators as the “keeper of secrets.”

According to investigators, the charge of creating an organized criminal community (OCC) against Tsalikov may serve as a legal pathway to higher-level responsibility. In Russian criminal law, such cases normally imply the existence of a top leader, meaning suspicion could extend further up the hierarchy.

#RussianPolitics #Shoigu #DefenseMinistry #Corruption

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

❗️ CIS Observers Declare Armenia’s Elections Free of Serious Violations

The observer mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States says it found no violations during Armenia’s parliamentary elections that could have affected the outcome of the vote.

According to mission head Nurlan Seitimov, observers recorded only minor technical shortcomings, which were promptly corrected by precinct election commissions.

🗣️ “Violations that could have influenced the election results were not identified by the mission,” Seitimov stated.

He also argued that political parties and candidates were provided with broad and equal opportunities to conduct their election campaigns.

The #CIS observer mission reported visiting more than 850 polling stations across all 10 regions of Armenia.

The assessment contrasts with statements made by several senior Russian officials during the campaign and after the vote, who alleged serious problems during the campaign and election process. The divergence highlights the differing narratives emerging from institutions formally associated with the same regional bloc.

#Armenia #Elections #Armenia2026 #CIS #ElectionObservation #ElectionMonitoring

https://t.co/bZ64yScVks

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Kremlin Calls Armenian Elections Unfair — Then Signals Readiness to Work with the Winners

Armenia’s parliamentary elections became the top political story in Russia this week.

Throughout election night, senior Russian officials sharply criticized both the campaign and the vote itself. Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry #Medvedev and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova accused the Armenian authorities of pressuring the opposition and allowing Western interference.

🗣️ “The entire election campaign and the voting process took place amid harsh repression ... and unprecedented pressure on the opposition, as well as interference from the West, primarily the EU,” Zakharova said.

Medvedev argued that elections in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan allegedly seeks to remove his competitors cannot be considered fully legitimate. The statements were widely presented as reflecting #Kremlin’s official position.

Yet after preliminary results showed a victory for Pashinyan’s camp, Russia softened its tone. Zakharova stated that Moscow intends to shape its policy toward Armenia “based on the real actions of the Armenian leadership”, while describing Armenians as a “brotherly people.”

#Armenia #Russia #Pashinyan #Elections

https://t.co/ghtH49hI4J

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Kremlin Calls Armenian Elections Unfair — Then Signals Readiness to Work with the Winners

Armenia’s parliamentary elections became the top political story in Russia this week.

Throughout election night, senior Russian officials sharply criticized both the campaign and the vote itself. Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry #Medvedev and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova accused the Armenian authorities of pressuring the opposition and allowing Western interference.

🗣️ “The entire election campaign and the voting process took place amid harsh repression ... and unprecedented pressure on the opposition, as well as interference from the West, primarily the EU,” Zakharova said.

Medvedev argued that elections in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan allegedly seeks to remove his competitors cannot be considered fully legitimate. The statements were widely presented as reflecting #Kremlin’s official position.

Yet after preliminary results showed a victory for Pashinyan’s camp, Russia softened its tone. Zakharova stated that Moscow intends to shape its policy toward Armenia “based on the real actions of the Armenian leadership”, while describing Armenians as a “brotherly people.”

#Armenia #Russia #Pashinyan #Elections

https://t.co/ghtH49hI4J

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

📊 War veterans make up just 2.5% of Russia’s regional elite — Report

In his report "Regional Nomenclature in 2026: Evolution and Adaptation under New Conditions" independent political analyst Alexander Kynev (designated a "foreign agent" by Kremlin) breaks down the actual statistics regarding the involvement of Ukraine war veterans in Russia’s regional governance, revealing that the "new elite" is mostly a myth.

Here is his exact data and analysis:

"Among the governors of the 83 'old' Russian regions as of June 1, 2026, those who had previously either worked in the government bodies of the annexed territories of Eastern Ukraine or were publicly designated as the Russia’s war against Ukraine “veteran” (hereafter 'SVO participant') numbered 5, all of whom possess extensive bureaucratic and administrative experience.

Among the heads of regional governments, deputy governors, heads of regional administration apparatuses, and heads of regional finance departments who held office between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, one can note 17 professional officials who, according to open data, are 'SVO participants' or managed to work in the annexed regions of Eastern Ukraine, meaning they constitute 2% of this particular group of the nomenclature (its total number as of January 1, 2025, was 821).

'SVO participants' who are professional military personnel (siloviki) with no prior administrative or managerial experience are extremely poorly represented in the administrations. There are only 4 such individuals among the studied group of the regional nomenclature (deputy governors and heads of regional governments). Thus, combined with professional officials, these two groups of 'SVO participants' accounted for only 2.6% within this part of the regional administrations during the period of January 1, 2025 – January 1, 2026.

Consequently, in the case of regional administrations, promotion and professional training/retraining programs for 'SVO participants' generally target the very same officials who were already part of the managerial elite. Therefore, in this part of the nomenclature, it is not a matter of forming some 'new elite,' but merely the implementation of certain programs to strengthen a kind of corporate solidarity among this nomenclature and to stimulate activities within a certain single ideological paradigm dictated from above."

The full report is available in Russian (NB: on the Russian cloud storage service Yandex.Disk): https://t.co/9OvMKEjv45

#RussianPolitics #Kynev #RussianElites #SVO #RussiaUkraineWar

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

📊 War veterans are relegated to secondary roles in Russian regional administrations — Report

Independent political analyst Alexander Kynev (designated a "foreign agent" by Moscow) has published a new study: "Regional Nomenclature in 2026: Evolution and Adaptation under New Conditions."

Here is his analysis of how the war is reshaping Russia's regional elites:

💬 "In 2025, the trend toward the return of a high level of rotation among the top regional administrative nomenclature persists. At the same time, the number of governor replacements in 2025 decreased compared to 2024 (5 instead of 13), but the number of replacements within the administration lineups themselves remained high. In 2024–2025, many governors, having been elected to a new term, significantly reformatted their teams. This applies to the Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Kostroma, Murmansk, Chelyabinsk, and Kamchatka regions, and some others. Such massive replacements within current administrations are atypical for the Russian regions and may indicate both deteriorating working conditions (leading both to a more frequent desire to leave the post and to the leadership’s desire to replace employees) and corresponding instructions from 'above.'

The war affects the composition of regional administrations [appointment of war participants to leadership positions in the regions – REM], but this impact is not significant; rather, it is an adaptation and adjustment of administrations to new requirements. Mainly, the war “veterans” join symbolic political positions and the deputy corps, where work formally does not require the presence of specific professional skills.

It is important to understand that the appointment of key officials in a regional administration requires approval from the relevant federal agencies via a special procedure that presupposes the existence of the necessary competencies, specialized education, work experience, recommendations, etc. As a result, outside of these procedures and quite rigid professional requirements are mostly positions that do not involve their holders issuing regulatory and restrictive legal documents and distributing significant budget resources (deputies overseeing relations with law enforcement agencies; patriotic education; youth policy and sports, etc.). This is precisely where the war participants without corresponding bureaucratic experience in their background mostly end up.

For the most part, 'business trips to the war zone' remain an attribute of career advancement for the traditional nomenclature, which even previously (without the 'SVO participant' attribute) could occupy the respective positions. In fact, obtaining the status of an 'SVO participant' is currently an additional element of a professional resume for them, strengthening career ambitions. At the same time, when analyzing such appointments, it is sometimes publicly difficult to separate real war participants from officials who have worked for some time in the administrative bodies of the annexed regions of Eastern Ukraine."

Full report is available in Russian (NB: at Russian cloud service Yandex.Disk):
🔗 https://t.co/9OvMKEjv45

#RussianPolitics #Kynev #SVO #RussiaUkraineWar #Kremlin

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

UPD: Russia’s Supreme Court Orders the Dissolution of the Social Protection Party

According to Russian authorities, the party failed to remedy violations identified during an inspection last year. Party representatives, however, insist that all required corrections were made and argue that the ministry subsequently refused to register amendments to the party’s charter.

The Supreme Court proceeded with the liquidation case without waiting for the party’s challenge to the ministry’s refusal to be resolved.

The ruling further reduces the number of registered political parties eligible to participate in Russia’s electoral process ahead of the 2026 State Duma elections.

#RussianElections #Elections2026 #RussianPolitics

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Russia’s Party System Shrinks Again

Russia’s Ministry of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to liquidate the Party of Social Protection. The court is expected to issue its decision on June 3.

The Ministry first identified numerous violations in the party’s activities in 2025. According to the authorities, the party failed to remedy them, leading to the suspension of its activities in December 2025.

The Party of Social Protection was registered in 2012 but has not played an active role in Russian politics in recent years. In 2025, it also lost the right to nominate candidates to the 2026 #StateDuma elections without collecting voter signatures after losing its last remaining seats in regional legislatures.

If dissolved, the number of officially registered political parties in Russia will shrink once again, continuing the long-term trend toward a more tightly controlled and consolidated party system ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections and beyond.

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #Elections2026

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

🤯 Only 4% of Russia’s ‘Foreign Agents’ Received Foreign Funding, Justice Ministry Admits

Just 4% of individuals and organizations designated as “foreign agents” in 2025 were found to have received foreign funding, according to Russian Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, foreign funding was the key legal criterion for designation as a foreign agent. Subsequent amendments expanded the law to include the much broader concept of being under “foreign influence” or “other forms of influence.”

Sviridenko praised lawmakers for introducing the changes, arguing that the previous version of the law would have allowed most current foreign agents to avoid designation.

🗣️ “If that single criterion still existed today, only 4% would be foreign agents. Can you imagine? Where would all the others be?” he said.

#ForeignAgents #HumanRights #RussianPolitics

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

📊 War veterans are relegated to secondary roles in Russian regional administrations — Report

Independent political analyst Alexander Kynev (designated a "foreign agent" by Moscow) has published a new study: "Regional Nomenclature in 2026: Evolution and Adaptation under New Conditions."

Here is his analysis of how the war is reshaping Russia's regional elites:

💬 "In 2025, the trend toward the return of a high level of rotation among the top regional administrative nomenclature persists. At the same time, the number of governor replacements in 2025 decreased compared to 2024 (5 instead of 13), but the number of replacements within the administration lineups themselves remained high. In 2024–2025, many governors, having been elected to a new term, significantly reformatted their teams. This applies to the Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Kostroma, Murmansk, Chelyabinsk, and Kamchatka regions, and some others. Such massive replacements within current administrations are atypical for the Russian regions and may indicate both deteriorating working conditions (leading both to a more frequent desire to leave the post and to the leadership’s desire to replace employees) and corresponding instructions from 'above.'

The war affects the composition of regional administrations [appointment of war participants to leadership positions in the regions – REM], but this impact is not significant; rather, it is an adaptation and adjustment of administrations to new requirements. Mainly, the war “veterans” join symbolic political positions and the deputy corps, where work formally does not require the presence of specific professional skills.

It is important to understand that the appointment of key officials in a regional administration requires approval from the relevant federal agencies via a special procedure that presupposes the existence of the necessary competencies, specialized education, work experience, recommendations, etc. As a result, outside of these procedures and quite rigid professional requirements are mostly positions that do not involve their holders issuing regulatory and restrictive legal documents and distributing significant budget resources (deputies overseeing relations with law enforcement agencies; patriotic education; youth policy and sports, etc.). This is precisely where the war participants without corresponding bureaucratic experience in their background mostly end up.

For the most part, 'business trips to the war zone' remain an attribute of career advancement for the traditional nomenclature, which even previously (without the 'SVO participant' attribute) could occupy the respective positions. In fact, obtaining the status of an 'SVO participant' is currently an additional element of a professional resume for them, strengthening career ambitions. At the same time, when analyzing such appointments, it is sometimes publicly difficult to separate real war participants from officials who have worked for some time in the administrative bodies of the annexed regions of Eastern Ukraine."

Full report is available in Russian (NB: at Russian cloud service Yandex.Disk):
🔗 https://t.co/9OvMKEjv45

#RussianPolitics #Kynev #SVO #RussiaUkraineWar #Kremlin

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Election Expert Silenced: Russia Labels Alexander Kynev a “Foreign Agent”

Kynev is one of the country’s leading researchers of elections, a long-time analyst of political processes in Russia and the post-Soviet space, with a particular focus on regional politics and elections at all levels. He has worked as a consultant for #Yabloko and previously headed the analytical department of the now-liquidated election watchdog #Golos. Kynev is the author of multiple books and hundreds of academic and publicist texts on Russian elections and regional governance, including for REM (links are provided below).

Despite making several controversial statements in recent years, including on Ukrainian and European politics, REM considers Kynev’s expertise on Russian elections critically important. He remains based in Russia and is not affiliated with any pro-government institutions.

In November 2025, Kynev proposed a protest strategy for the 2026 State Duma elections he called “Vote Out of Spite.” The idea was simple: citizens should go to polling stations precisely because the authorities insist participation is pointless.

🗣️ “The only motivation that can work is: vote out of spite. Participation itself is protest — acting despite everything. The entire system is built to keep you away and ensure everything is tightly controlled. It doesn’t matter whom you vote for. Vote for anyone. Even the LDPR. Voting while sitting on the couch is not protest,” Kynev said at the time.

After being designated a “foreign agent,” Kynev wrote on his Telegram channel that the decision was an attempt to “silence” him and warned of financial and administrative “strangulation.”

May 2022: To Russian opposition after the disaster of 2022: Enlighten, not repent. https://t.co/uggALWOrpz

August 2023: "The current government is not going anywhere". On political changes in Russia. https://t.co/uinX3nucHY

September 2023: Elections without change? https://t.co/rpqktxphqm

August 2024: Who rules Russian regions. Alexander Kynev on how the system of power has changed over 30 years. https://t.co/lMJcBYkX0o

August 2024: The main intrigue of September elections — will Communists regain their positions? https://t.co/OV9TnzRvpM

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #ForeignAgents #PoliticalRepression #Kynev

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Alexei Navalny Would Have Turned 50 Today

#Navalny’s parents, relatives, supporters, and other Russians gathered at his grave to pay tribute and honor his memory.

Navalny, the most prominent opposition politician in modern Russia, has been murdered in prison in February 2024 while serving a lengthy sentence on politically motivated charges.

Despite ongoing pressure on opposition movements and public commemorations, people continue to visit his grave on significant dates, including his birthday, to remember his political legacy and express solidarity with his cause.

#AlexeiNavalny #RussianPolitics #RussianOpposition #PoliticalPrisoners

[Дождь @tvrain]

Родители Алексея Навального пришли на Борисовское кладбище почтить его память

Сегодня политику исполнилось бы 50 лет.

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Kremlin's Disinformation Campaign Against Pashinyan Ahead of the Elections in Armenia — now available in English

https://t.co/ucZgosw7Do

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Kremlin-Linked Disinformation Campaign Fails to Gain Traction Ahead of Armenia’s Elections

An investigation by https://t.co/tPEM0sqtH1 into disinformation narratives targeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the June 2026 parliamentary elections suggests that a year-long campaign involving Kremlin-linked actors has largely failed to influence Armenia’s domestic political debate.

According to the analysis, the false narratives failed to gain significant traction within Armenia itself. Attempts to target Armenian diaspora communities abroad were also of limited electoral value, since Armenian citizens can vote only inside the country.

That does not mean the effort was insignificant. A network of Russian- and English-language outlets participated in spreading anti-Pashinyan narratives, including the so-called Foundation to Battle Injustice (FBI, created by late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin), the U.S.-based website VT Foreign Policy, Azerbaijan’s Haqqin, Turkey’s OdaTV, and hundreds of social media accounts amplifying similar messages.

https://t.co/tPEM0sqtH1 notes that Russian-linked disinformation campaigns have become a regular feature of elections in many countries. Yet Armenia appears to be an exception. While a handful of false stories circulated widely nearly a year before the vote, dozens of subsequent narratives attracted little attention and failed to achieve comparable reach.

The publication suggests that this may reflect the political realities of the campaign itself. For much of the past year, Pashinyan’s party has maintained a substantial lead in opinion polls, leaving disinformation actors with limited prospects beyond generating background noise in the information space.

Read the full investigation (in Russian): https://t.co/1Xx6wmpu6P

#Armenia #Pashinyan #Disinformation #Russia #Elections

Photo: https://t.co/g564Btd1TG

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

58 out of 400+ Participants of Russia's War Against Ukraine Secure United Russia Nominations for the State Duma

Despite the #Kremlin’s emphasis on promoting veterans of the war against Ukraine into politics, only 58 of them secured victories in #UnitedRussia primaries and are likely to receive nominations for the 2026 #StateDuma elections.

According to calculations by the Kommersant, this represents only about 10% of the more than 400 war participants who sought nomination through the party’s primary process.

Of the 58 winners, 32 are expected to run in single-member constituencies, while the remainder will be included on party lists. The largest numbers of successful veteran candidates emerged from #Moscow, the so-called Donetsk People's Republic #DPR, #Novosibirsk Oblast, and #Chechnya.

The final list of candidates will be approved at United Russia’s party congress later this year.

Notably, primaries rules granted candidates with war participant status an additional 25% bonus to their vote totals. At the same time, the designation does not necessarily indicate frontline military service. In many cases, officials and lawmakers obtain veteran status through short-term assignments to occupied territories or combat zones. Russian media and political observers have also reported the existence of special units through which legislators can formally acquire veteran credentials.

#RussianElections #Elections2026 #RussiaUkraineWar #RussianPolitics #Duma2026

https://t.co/onWBDjVTP6

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Bucha Murder Suspect Heads to Russia’s State Duma

Nursultan Mussagaleev secured his place on #UnitedRussia’s party list for #StateDuma elections in #Orenburg Region.

Ukraine accuses Mussagaleev of involvement in the torture and killing of a civilian in #Bucha during Russia’s occupation of the area in 2022. According to the investigation, he commanded a reconnaissance unit and issued orders during cleansing operations conducted in the region.

Rather than facing scrutiny in Russia, Mussagaleev received state honors for his military service. After returning from the war, he participated in the #Kremlin-backed Time of Heroes program, designed to promote war veterans into public office, and was subsequently appointed head of a municipal district in the Orenburg Region.

#RussianPolitics #RussiaUkraineWar

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Independent Poll Puts New People in Fourth Place Ahead of Russia’s 2026 Duma Elections. United Russia drops significantly.

According to a May 2026 survey by the independent polling organization @Levada_ru, the #NewPeople party ranks only fourth in voter support ahead of Russia’s #StateDuma elections.

Respondents were asked which party they would support in a State Duma election. Here comes the rating:

30% #UnitedRussia
10% #LDPR
9% #CPRF
5% #NewPeople
4% A #JustRussia

The findings differ significantly from recent surveys published by the state-aligned pollster #VTsIOM. Over the past several months, VTsIOM has consistently measured support for New People at between 9% and 11%, at times placing the party in second place behind United Russia.

The only similarity between the results from different pollsters is that United Russia is seeing a significant drop in its ratings.

Source: https://t.co/LMcPrUCgKn

#RussianPolitics #LevadaCenter #Polling #Elections2026 #Duma2026

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

“Demand for Normalisation” — Russian Analysts Discuss New People Party Rising Ratings

Russia’s state pollster #VTsIOM has released new party ratings amid the ongoing #StateDuma campaign. Despite a recent methodology change, shifting from purely telephone surveys to a mixed phone-and-doorstep model, the "liberal-technocratic" party #NewPeople continues to post strong results.

In the second half of May, New People again moved into second place, tying #CPRF and overtaking the declining #LDPR.

Political consultant Ilya Grashchenkov argues that the party’s popularity reflects a public “demand for reducing pressure.” According to him, voters increasingly want “fewer bans, less interference in everyday life — fewer things you’re not allowed to access, watch, or use, and fewer demands to tolerate yet another restriction”.

Independent political analyst Alexander Kynev describes the trend as a broader “demand for normality.” He says support for New People is no longer limited to its traditional electorate — entrepreneurs, youth, and residents of large cities — but is now spreading to more inert segments of the population.

Latest VTsIOM ratings:

#UnitedRussia — 33.2% (+1.9)
#CPRF — 11.7% (-0.2)
#NewPeople — 11.7% (+2.6)
#LDPR — 9.7% (-1.9)
#JustRussia — 4.4% (+0.2)

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #Elections2026

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Kremlin-Linked Disinformation Campaign Fails to Gain Traction Ahead of Armenia’s Elections

An investigation by https://t.co/tPEM0sqtH1 into disinformation narratives targeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the June 2026 parliamentary elections suggests that a year-long campaign involving Kremlin-linked actors has largely failed to influence Armenia’s domestic political debate.

According to the analysis, the false narratives failed to gain significant traction within Armenia itself. Attempts to target Armenian diaspora communities abroad were also of limited electoral value, since Armenian citizens can vote only inside the country.

That does not mean the effort was insignificant. A network of Russian- and English-language outlets participated in spreading anti-Pashinyan narratives, including the so-called Foundation to Battle Injustice (FBI, created by late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin), the U.S.-based website VT Foreign Policy, Azerbaijan’s Haqqin, Turkey’s OdaTV, and hundreds of social media accounts amplifying similar messages.

https://t.co/tPEM0sqtH1 notes that Russian-linked disinformation campaigns have become a regular feature of elections in many countries. Yet Armenia appears to be an exception. While a handful of false stories circulated widely nearly a year before the vote, dozens of subsequent narratives attracted little attention and failed to achieve comparable reach.

The publication suggests that this may reflect the political realities of the campaign itself. For much of the past year, Pashinyan’s party has maintained a substantial lead in opinion polls, leaving disinformation actors with limited prospects beyond generating background noise in the information space.

Read the full investigation (in Russian): https://t.co/1Xx6wmpu6P

#Armenia #Pashinyan #Disinformation #Russia #Elections

Photo: https://t.co/g564Btd1TG

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Former Golos Co-Chair Faces Criminal Charges

Russian election expert Stanislav Andreychuk, a former co-chair of the independent election monitoring movement @golosinfo, has announced that a criminal case has been opened against him.

According to Andreychuk, the case stems from the alleged failure to submit reports on behalf of Golos as a designated “foreign agent”. However, the movement formally ceased operations in summer 2025 following years of state pressure.

Despite its dissolution, Golos remains on Russia’s register of “foreign agents”, and the Ministry of Justice continues to treat Andreychuk as one of the movement’s co-chairs.

Andreychuk says he intends to challenge the charges.

For more than two decades, Golos was Russia’s leading independent election watchdog, documenting electoral violations and promoting transparency in the electoral process. In 2021, the authorities designated the movement as a “foreign agent”. In 2023, its co-chair Grigory @Melkonyants was arrested on charges of organizing the activities of an “undesirable organization”. Following his conviction, Golos announced the end of its work.

#RussianPolitics #Golos #ElectionObservation #RussianElections #PoliticalPersecution

https://t.co/GLL0XgzxmW

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Bucha Murder Suspect Heads to Russia’s State Duma

Nursultan Mussagaleev secured his place on #UnitedRussia’s party list for #StateDuma elections in #Orenburg Region.

Ukraine accuses Mussagaleev of involvement in the torture and killing of a civilian in #Bucha during Russia’s occupation of the area in 2022. According to the investigation, he commanded a reconnaissance unit and issued orders during cleansing operations conducted in the region.

Rather than facing scrutiny in Russia, Mussagaleev received state honors for his military service. After returning from the war, he participated in the #Kremlin-backed Time of Heroes program, designed to promote war veterans into public office, and was subsequently appointed head of a municipal district in the Orenburg Region.

#RussianPolitics #RussiaUkraineWar

[Вот Так @vottak_tv]

Обвиняемый в расстреле мирного жителя Бучи идет в Госдуму от «Единой России»

Глава Новосергиевского района Оренбургской области Нурсултан Муссагалеев по итогам праймериз «Единой России» занял второе место по спискам в регионе и выдвигается в Госдуму.

Украинские следственные органы обвиняют его в причастности к пыткам и убийству мирного жителя в Бучанском районе Киевской области в 2022 году. В материалах следствия утверждается, что он командовал разведывательным подразделением и отдавал приказы в ходе «зачисток» в регионе.

При этом российская сторона ранее наградила Муссагалеева государственными наградами, а после демобилизации он участвовал в программе «Время героев» и возглавил муниципальный район в Оренбургской области.

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Chinese Businessman Allegedly Financed Russian Governor’s Election Campaign

Prosecutors in #Novosibirsk have been asked to investigate possible illegal foreign financing of Governor Andrei Travnikov’s 2023 election campaign.

A local lawyer filed a complaint after testimony in a criminal case involving one of Travnikov’s subordinates suggested that Chinese businessman Qiu Fei may have transferred 20 million rubles to support Travnikov’s re-election bid.

The prosecutor’s office has registered the complaint and forwarded materials to the regional election commission, the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Justice, and the regional government.

During the investigation, Qiu Fei himself stated that he contributed 20 million rubles to Travnikov’s campaign because the governor had provided significant support for one of his investment projects. However, he later withdrew those claims in court.

According to official records, Travnikov’s 2023 campaign fund exceeded 50 million rubles. United Russia contributed 34 million rubles, while more than 15 million came from corporate donations, some of which have not been clearly identified. The alleged 20-million-ruble contribution from Qiu Fei does not appear in the official campaign finance disclosures.

The allegations are particularly notable because foreign financing of election campaigns is prohibited under Russian law.

Travnikov, a member of #UnitedRussia, has governed the Novosibirsk region since 2017. He won the 2018 gubernatorial election with 64.5% of the vote and was re-elected in 2023 with 75.7%.

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #ElectionIntegrity

https://t.co/Tu06YNUwOb

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Altai Activist Opposing Municipal Reform Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

A court in Russia’s #Altai Republic has sentenced civic activist Aruna Arna to five years in a penal colony on charges of "public calls for terrorism" online.

Arna was one of the leading voices opposing the abolition of the region’s two-tier system of local self-government. She helped organize a signature campaign against regional governor Andrei Turchak, after which she became the target of increasing pressure from the authorities.

In October, she was fined 20,000 rubles (EUR 200) for allegedly organizing a public gathering against the municipal reform. Authorities subsequently opened a criminal case against her for alleged calls to terrorism and added her to Russia's official list of terrorists and extremists.

At the time of her arrest, the 39-year-old activist was a nursing mother. The court nevertheless imposed a custodial sentence despite her having a young child.

#RussianPolitics #LocalGovernment #PoliticalPersecution #MunicipalReform

https://t.co/FrsCSi7ygI

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

🚨 Altai activist and mother of multiple children Aruna Arna placed in pre-trial detention

The Gorno-Altaysk City Court has ordered Aruna Arna to be taken into custody over alleged “violations,” @sotavisioneng reports, citing the activist’s relatives.

On September 25, Arna was initially given a milder restriction — a ban on certain activities — as part of a criminal case accusing her of “inciting terrorism” over videos posted on her Telegram channel. The court prohibited her from visiting train stations and airports, attending rallies or public events, managing social media accounts, and using the phone or internet.

On October 7, she was fined 20,000 rubles (EUR 200) for allegedly organizing public gatherings outside a court during hearings on a lawsuit challenging the municipal reform.

***

Aruna Arna, a mother of several children, is known for her activism against the construction of resorts in protected natural areas of Altai and her opposition to the municipal reform in the republic. On August 26, Russia’s financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring added her to the official list of “terrorists and extremists.”

On the photo:

Aruna Arna holding a solo picket outside the Altai Republic administration building. The poster reads:

I am defending the land of Altai – is that why I have been added to the list of terrorists on the orders of [Governor] Turchak?

Photo from Arna's social media

🔗 Source: https://t.co/DSSGUIkiWx

#RussianPolitics #Altai #Repression #MunicipalReform #PoliticalPersecution #HumanRights #LSG #Turchak

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

United Russia Primaries: Moscow Bets on War Veterans

As candidates nominated by the ruling #UnitedRussia party in single-member districts are largely expected to win, the contours of the future #StateDuma are beginning to emerge.

Of the Duma’s 450 seats, nearly 10% (39 seats) come from single-member districts in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and their surrounding regions. Among the winners of United Russia’s primaries in these strategically important districts, every fifth candidate is officially classified as a veteran of Russia’s war against Ukraine, although in some cases that status appears largely symbolic.

#Moscow stands out. Of the 16 winning candidates in Moscow’s single-member districts, six are participants in the war. By contrast, among the 15 winners from the #MoscowRegion and #LeningradRegions, not a single candidate has such a background.

In #StPetersburg, only two of eight winners are listed as war participants. One of them, Alexander Amelin, head of the central HQ of the Young Guard of United Russia, spent some time at the front as a drone operator. The other is State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov, whose brief military experience remains poorly documented.

It is worth recalling that candidates recognized as participants in the war received a built-in electoral advantage during the primaries: their final vote totals were automatically increased by 25% compared with civilian candidates.

#Russia #RussianElections #Duma2026 #UnitedRussia #UkraineWar

https://t.co/zsGbYcJ7lM

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

United Russia Wraps Up Primaries Amid Reports of Voter Coercion

The ruling #UnitedRussia party is celebrating the scale of its primaries. Independent observers are pointing to the scale of voter mobilization and coercion.

Competition reached nearly 12 candidates per seat for the #StateDuma and 7 candidates per seat in regional legislatures. In total, 20,300 candidates took part in the process, including 5,200 seeking nomination for the State Duma.

Among them were 630 "veterans" of #RussiaUkraineWar. Under party rules, their final results were automatically boosted by 25%.

United Russia claims that more than 12 million people participated in the vote, roughly one in every ten Russian voters. The primaries were conducted entirely online through the state services portal Gosuslugi.

At the same time, reports from across Russia described widespread pressure on public-sector employees and students. Initially, they were allegedly required to register for the voting platform; later, many were reportedly instructed to vote, sometimes for specific candidates. State institutions, government agencies, and educational organizations circulated guidance on how to vote “correctly”.

The results of the primaries will be finalized shortly. However, as independent political analyst Alexander Kynev notes, in most races there was little real intrigue, as the winners were effectively known in advance.

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #Duma2026 #UnitedRussia #ElectionIntegrity

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

“Peaceful Forces of Russia” — Ilya Yashin Disclosed His New Political Party Name

The founding congress of a new political party associated with Russian opposition politician @IlyaYashin will take place in Berlin on June 12–13.

Around 120 delegates are expected to participate, including politicians, former elected officials, journalists, human rights advocates, and civic activists.

The party’s working name is Peaceful Forces of Russia (#PFR) (Mirnye Sily Rossii, MSR in Russian).

The launch comes as Russia’s legal political space continues to narrow ahead of the 2026 State Duma elections, with most opposition figures either in exile, imprisoned, or barred from participating in elections. The new party appears aimed at consolidating anti-war and democratic political forces outside Russia and will not seek for Russia's Ministry of Justice registration.

#RussianPolitics #RussianOpposition #Exile

[Илья Яшин @IlyaYashin]

В субботу прошло очередное заседание оргкомитета российской демократической партии. Давайте поделюсь главными новостями.

1. Учредительный съезд партии состоится 12 и 13 июня в Берлине. В нём примут участие около 120 делегатов, среди которых немало известных людей: политиков, бывших депутатов, журналистов, правозащитников, активистов и т.д.

2. Рабочее название Партии — «Мирные Силы России» (МСР).

3. Оргкомитет подготовил основные документы партии, которые будут вынесены на съезд. Таких документов три:

— Декларация Партии, которая заявит о её учреждении;

— Манифест Партии, который отражает наши ценности;

— Устав Партии, который регулирует её работу.

4. Учредительный съезд пройдет в течение двух дней.

12 июня делегаты будут работать в закрытом режиме: рассмотрят и примут программно-уставные документы, а также тайным голосованием выберут руководящие органы партии.

13 июня мы откроем съезд для прессы. Этот день будет посвящен в основном политическим выступлениям избранных накануне руководителей партии и гостей съезда.

5. Сегодня мы открываем аккредитацию для СМИ. Если вы журналист, желающий посетить съезд и осветить его работу, направьте заявку на электронный адрес: [email protected]

В заявке, пожалуйста, укажите вашу фамилию и имя, а также медиа, которые вы представляете. Кроме того, уточните, пожалуйста, планируете ли вы вести видео или фотосъемку.

Ну и пожелайте нам удачи.

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

Russia’s Party System Shrinks Again

Russia’s Ministry of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to liquidate the Party of Social Protection. The court is expected to issue its decision on June 3.

The Ministry first identified numerous violations in the party’s activities in 2025. According to the authorities, the party failed to remedy them, leading to the suspension of its activities in December 2025.

The Party of Social Protection was registered in 2012 but has not played an active role in Russian politics in recent years. In 2025, it also lost the right to nominate candidates to the 2026 #StateDuma elections without collecting voter signatures after losing its last remaining seats in regional legislatures.

If dissolved, the number of officially registered political parties in Russia will shrink once again, continuing the long-term trend toward a more tightly controlled and consolidated party system ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections and beyond.

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #Elections2026

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

New People Party Bets on Veterans of the War Against Ukraine

The #NewPeople party plans to nominate 10 veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine in the 2026 #StateDuma elections.

According to party leader Alexei Nechaev, the list will additionally include candidates who are “not at the front, but produce equipment for the front”.

While New People has cultivated an image as a more modern and business-oriented party, it continues to align itself with the #Kremlin’s broader wartime consensus.

Thus, the incorporation of war veterans into electoral politics is not limited to #UnitedRussia. Parliamentary parties across the political spectrum are increasingly competing for candidates with military backgrounds ahead of the 2026 elections.

The only exception is the #Yabloko party, openly opposing to the war.

#RussianElections #Duma2026 #RussiaUkraineWar #RussianPolitics

https://t.co/u4jccS5fXH

[Russian Election Monitor @russian_monitor]

United Russia Wraps Up Primaries Amid Reports of Voter Coercion

The ruling #UnitedRussia party is celebrating the scale of its primaries. Independent observers are pointing to the scale of voter mobilization and coercion.

Competition reached nearly 12 candidates per seat for the #StateDuma and 7 candidates per seat in regional legislatures. In total, 20,300 candidates took part in the process, including 5,200 seeking nomination for the State Duma.

Among them were 630 "veterans" of #RussiaUkraineWar. Under party rules, their final results were automatically boosted by 25%.

United Russia claims that more than 12 million people participated in the vote, roughly one in every ten Russian voters. The primaries were conducted entirely online through the state services portal Gosuslugi.

At the same time, reports from across Russia described widespread pressure on public-sector employees and students. Initially, they were allegedly required to register for the voting platform; later, many were reportedly instructed to vote, sometimes for specific candidates. State institutions, government agencies, and educational organizations circulated guidance on how to vote “correctly”.

The results of the primaries will be finalized shortly. However, as independent political analyst Alexander Kynev notes, in most races there was little real intrigue, as the winners were effectively known in advance.

#RussianPolitics #RussianElections #Duma2026 #UnitedRussia #ElectionIntegrity