Elections in Russia

"We will never know if Putin could win a free and fair election again, because there will never be such an election while he remains in power. Successful revolution against Putin’s dictatorship seems unlikely."

"Democracy never took hold in Russia, in the sense that power never changed hands after freely contested elections."

"The Russian Federation has created limitations that are not conducive to undertaking election observation."

"Perhaps the most important requirement in an election is that voters have a choice. It sounds trivial, but that is something that has been lacking in most Russian elections held under Vladimir Putin’s rule."