An election observer representing Russia’s liberal opposition Yabloko party lost consciousness while being arrested by police at a polling station in St. Petersburg on Saturday. The incident occurred during the second day of the country’s tightly controlled three-day parliamentary election, which began on Friday and is scheduled to end on Sunday. This voting process, intended to elect members of the State Duma, marks the first parliamentary election in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine commenced on February 24, 2022. The election features virtually no opposition and is widely expected to secure the Kremlin’s continued political dominance.
According to a statement released by the Yabloko party on Telegram, officials at the polling station accused the party’s election observer of attempting to “disrupt the elections” and subsequently summoned the police. The party reported that officers “used force” against the observer during the arrest. While the party confirmed that the individual was later transported to a police station and formally charged with disobeying police orders, it remained unclear whether he received prompt medical attention immediately after falling unconscious.
Russian authorities did not provide an immediate comment regarding the incident. Yabloko, which stands as the only registered political entity that has openly criticized the war in Ukraine, was removed from the ballot last month by the Supreme Court. Consequently, the party now has only a few dozen candidates participating in single-constituency races. Furthermore, several anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced to flee the country prior to the campaign period. Both Yabloko and the Communist Party—which has criticized specific government policies while carefully avoiding any direct criticism of President Vladimir Putin—reported that many of their election observers were turned away from polling stations.
The parties also documented various irregularities, including the refusal to issue paper ballots, the failure to provide turnout data for verification, the opening of sealed ballot boxes, and instances where polling station doors were left unsecured overnight. On Friday, Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov appealed to Ella Pamfilova, the head of the Central Election Commission, regarding the numerous denials of entry and the pressure exerted on observers. “The scale of what’s happening does not allow us to view this as a misunderstanding,” Rybakov stated.
Russia chose not to invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the election, with the Russian Foreign Ministry accusing the body of “double standards” regarding its criticism of Russia. In its place, the government invited other international organizations and observers from OSCE member states. However, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons stated that the decision to exclude the organization was a breach of Russia’s commitments as a member state. “This persistent rejection of independent scrutiny follows a deeply worrying pattern of disregard for the principles of transparency, democratic accountability and the rule of law,” Pons said.
The Central Election Commission stated that more than 380,000 electoral observers were registered before the vote, including representatives from 11 political parties. Of these, 97,040 were linked to the United Russia party, while 42,743 represented the Communist Party. Additionally, 1,126 international election observers and “electoral experts” from 133 countries and 13 international organizations were registered. In the lead-up to the vote, Russia also implemented a new code of ethics that bans observers from making statements “that could be construed as undermining confidence in the electoral system.”
To boost turnout among the 111 million eligible voters, authorities extended the election over the weekend and permitted electronic balloting. For the first time, the parliamentary election includes residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began, despite not having full control over those territories. Voting is also occurring in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Kremlin seeks to use the election to demonstrate public support for the war and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its actions, while simultaneously eliminating any signs of dissent. The main Kremlin party, United Russia, is expected to retain its overwhelming control of the State Duma, alongside smaller “systemic opposition” parties that typically vote in sync with the government.
