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A SHAM ELECTION IN RUSSIA – BUT THE PUSH FOR CHANGE IS STILL VERY
MUCH ALIVE

RUSSIANS WENT TO THE POLLS ON 17 MARCH – IN A SHAM ELECTION THAT TOOK
PLACE AGAINST A BACKDROP OF CENSORSHIP, THE MARKED ABSENCE OF ANY TRUE
OPPOSITION, AND AN INTENSIFYING BRUTAL CRACKDOWN ON EVEN THE MOST MODERATE
DISSENT.

Contrary to Russia’s international commitments, observers for the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who typically bear
witness to the election process, were refused access to the 2024
presidential election. Their plans to visit polling stations on election
day and observe the conduct of election officials, the counting of ballots,
the handling of spoiled or unused ballots, and the transmission of polling
station results to a regional election body were blocked.

CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE

Those who came out to vote found a shortlist on the ballot: all relevant
opposition figures have been jailed, exiled, or denied registration as
candidates. Dissent against President Vladimir Putin, the policies of his
government, or the war against Ukraine is being brutally repressed through
a combination of legal sanctions, including growing use of the
anti-extremism law, arrests of protesters, intensified control over
internet access [3], and criminalisation of independent conflict reporting.
[4]

In Russia today, the Kremlin has a virtual monopoly on truth. And as we
have expressed over and over [5], this erosion of public debate has been
ongoing since President Putin took power in 2000. The regime has been
continually attacking journalists, civil society and the media, targeting
people it accuses of disseminating ‘fake news’ about Russian armed
forces, or ‘discrediting’ [6] those who call for ‘sanctions against
the Russian Federation, its citizens or legal entities’.

For example, a few weeks into Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022,
ALEXEI GORINOV, a lawyer and former Moscow municipal official, was jailed
after he proposed, during a meeting with other city employees, a minute’s
silence to show solidarity [7] with ‘the victims of the ongoing military
aggression in Ukraine’. He became the first person sentenced under
Russia's law restricting criticism of the invasion and remains behind bars,
where he suffers from deteriorating health.

Likewise, ALSU KURMASHEVA, who reported on the hostility that ethnic and
religious minorities, including Volga and Crimean Tatars, face, was
arrested on 18 October 2023. She is yet to have a trial and the authorities
have held her in detention for nearly 6 months. Despite this, her
resilience shines on.

> _‘Your messages and support get through the jail bars and warm my heart
> every day. We have so much ahead - we’ll create, we’ll travel,
> we’ll learn from each other and educate our children. We’ll do that
> together!'_
>
> _–– Kurmasheva, thanking her supporters, December 2023_

Activists and media colleagues continue to raise her case [8] and call for
her release.

Then, in April 2023, dual British-Russian citizen and key opposition figure
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA received a 25-year prison sentence and a 7-year ban on
journalistic activities. He was arrested in April 2022 after he criticised
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including during an address to the Arizona
House of Representatives in the United States. He was charged with
disseminating ‘fake news’, treason, and participating in the activities
of an ‘undesirable organisation’.

And the regime isn’t stopping there. As recently as 12 February, Russian
authorities branded ARTICLE 19 an ‘undesirable organisation’ [9],
making us the latest in a long line of non-governmental organisations to be
branded with this status. This is yet another blunt tool to cut off debate
and discussion between people in and outside Russia. It will grossly harm
their ability to access, participate in, or hold information that we
publish. Not only that, but anyone found with such information can also be
challenged in court.

IN OTHER WORDS, READING THIS VERY EMAIL COULD GET YOU ARRESTED!

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THE POWER OF RESISTANCE, THE POWER OF VOICE

And yet, despite these odds, the people of Russia continue to hold fast,
defending themselves in a myriad of ways.

Like Russian journalist and activist MARIA BARANOVA, who worked for over a
decade facing frequent threats. In 2019, she took on the job of
editor-in-chief of RT (formerly Russia Today), believing she could affect
change from within one of the country’s most pro-Putin media outlets. She
spoke to ARTICLE 19’s podcast _Silenced_ [10] about her decision to leave
RT following Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. ‘It’s
very hard to be concerned about my own safety because I have been under
threat for 12 years,’ she said.

LISTEN TO MARIA

And like so many ordinary Russians who, over the 3 days the polls were
open, showed their opposition to Putin by pouring dye into ballot boxes and
gathering at the graveside of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, displaying
messages that said: ‘We choose you’.

Or, even like Russians living abroad, who stood in solidarity with their
country mates, turning out at Russian embassies to show their support for
the ‘Noon against Putin’ protest in Russia, which Navalny supported
before his death. It was a simple call: people arrived at polling stations
simultaneously, and either spoiled their ballots, or voted for anyone but
Putin.

Brave people like these are making their voices heard, even as they find
themselves continually targeted and jailed.

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 GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE IN RUSSIA

But even as Russian authorities have made their intolerance for freedom of
expression and dissent all too clear, they’ve overlooked the power of
solidarity. The world over, support is growing for Russians to be able to
safely hold their leaders accountable – from the right to vote in free
and fair elections to the right to access and share credible information.

Freedom of expression groups, civil society, and journalists continue to
highlight the dire situation in Russia, and in particular, the cases of
people who are behind bars for their inspiring activism and commitment to
reporting on Russia and the lives of people who live there.

Despite their attempts to silence us, we at ARTICLE 19 urge the
international community to respond strongly to the gross violations of
political and voting rights in Russia and offer concrete support to civil
society, including those forced into exile. The fact that the Russian
presidential election was extended to the occupied territories of Ukraine
calls for concrete counter-measures, including expanded targeted sanctions
and further forms of support to Ukraine.

This could include offering emergency evacuation [12], shelter, simplified
visa procedures, granting refugee status, or providing financial assistance
[13] to independent journalists and human rights defenders.

We urge governments to not only condemn the sham elections – the
crackdown on freedom of expression and the right to know – but to speak
up on the international stage against these attacks.

And we must compel leaders to tap into relationships with officials or
businesses that engage with Russia and push for greater freedoms there.

Even as we do this, we will continue to ensure that we amplify dissenting
voices from the Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine. Our interview with
Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk revealed the ongoing collective efforts
to restore media independence and to get impartial information out to the
rest of the world.

LISTEN TO OLGA [11]

WILL YOU HELP US ENSURE THAT THE STORIES OF RUSSIA'S BRAVE AND RESILIENT
JOURNALISTS ARE HEARD THE WORLD OVER?

SUPPORT THIS EFFORT TODAY [14]

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