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.

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, and criminalisation of independent conflict reporting.

In Russia today, the Kremlin has a virtual monopoly on truth. And as we have expressed over and over, 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’ 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 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 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’, 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!

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 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.

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, shelter, simplified visa procedures, granting refugee status, or providing financial assistance 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.