Reportedly United Russia hold the majority of seats in the state Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. Other parties in place are the Liberal democratic party of Russia, the cprf, the srzp/A Just Russia, the all-Russian political party and the civic platform. According to reports Russian elections which began on Friday and end Sunday will not affect Vladimir Putin’s presidency. Kremlin critics, protestors and pressure groups are reportedly barred from standing in the election where voters will choose 450 state deputies and regional parliaments.
According to a report civil rights advocate Lena Litvinovich is running in the election. She was said to have created Russia’s first political website in the late nineteen nineties. Reportedly she became a consultant, has worked with Vladimir Putin and took part in his 2000 election campaign.
According to reports, following the end of the cold war in 1991 some saw Putin as a stabilising figure. Portrayed as pro western, relations with the west are said to have suffered due to wars in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and the annexing of the Crimenean peninsula in 2014 which lead to economic sanctions. The Russian government seemingly spend a great amount on nuclear and military programmes, though according to a recent poll four out of ten people struggle to buy basic groceries.
Critics have reportedly been labelled foreign agents which may be true in some cases. Complaints about the arrest and detention of critics has met with international disapproval. Possible repercussions are said to be oppressive obligatory declarations and financial reporting and being dropped by insurers or satellite providers. Protestors have been accused of lacking a coherent political programme.