Far-right European politicians to whitewash constitutional vote in Russia
Stefan Keuter, German MP from the far-right AfD speaking to the Russian state-controlled media: “My personal view is that the level of organisation in Russia is higher even than in Germany” Far-right European politicians have once again been invited as politically biased election observers to praise the disputed “all-Russian voting” on the constitutional amendments […]
Policy Alert #4 – How corona thwarts Putin’s plan to change the constitution
Photo: msn.com Fast tracking the president’s constitutional changes The year 2020 was set to bolster Putin’s leadership of Russia’s politics but the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with the Kremlin’s script. In his January 15, 2020, address to the Federal Assembly, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin surprised many by announcing sweeping constitutional changes. Putin, […]
Election Alert #4 – How corona thwarts Putin’s plan to change the constitution
The pandemic has interrupted Putin’s fast-track constitutional amendment project that would have allowed him to stay in power beyond 2024. An understanding that his popular support may be waning was likely behind the haste. What started as a fail-proof political project is now an uncertain race against a natural calamity. Whenever the vote will take […]
Election alert # 3 – Constitutional amendments in Russia – risk of a legal chaos
Photo: dw.com On January 20, 2020, the president submitted to the State Duma a draft law on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation “On improving the regulation of certain issues related to the organization of public power”. The highly controversial draft law has already been approved in the first reading by the […]
Russia election alert #3
On January 20, 2020, the president of Russia submitted to the State Duma a draft law on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. To pass these amendments, authorities have also proposed to call an “all-Russian vote”. These attempts to amend the constitution by calling such a vote instead of through existing legal procedures […]
Election alert #2 – Outcome of the regional elections and violations encountered by independent observers
Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky/DPA More than five thousand elections on different levels were held in Russia on September 8, on the so-called single voting day. Russian citizens were electing governors of 16 Russian regions, deputies of 13 regional parliaments, mayors of cities, councilors of city and municipal councils. The average turnout was 41.2%, which slightly […]
Russia election alert #2
More than five thousand elections on different levels were held in Russia on September 8, on the so-called single voting day. The average turnout was 41.2%, which slightly exceeded last year’s turnout. In gubernatorial elections, all candidates designated and supported by the Kremlin have won in the first round. However, in the elections to the […]
Russia election alert #1 – Devaluation of election institution ahead of regional elections
Photo: DW/E. Barysheva The situation on the eve of 2019 regional elections shows several important trends. On the one hand, Russian electoral system is becoming extremely politically biased and repressive. On the other, there is growing social demand for participation in decision-making and rising protest activity, including protest vote and participation in street protests. […]
Russia election alert #1
The situation on the eve of 2019 regional elections, 8 September 2019, shows several important trends. On the one hand, Russian electoral system is becoming extremely politically biased and repressive. On the other, there is growing social demand for participation in decision-making and rising protest activity, including protest vote and participation in street protests.
“Strong tendencies to divide Russia’s and Germany’s civil societies”
Picture: picture alliance / dpa / Uwe Zucchi The German public radio station Deutschlandfunk today reported on the perspectives of the German-Russian Petersburg dialogue forum, which is currently taking place near Bonn, Germany. In the report, Petersburg dialogue board member and EPDE Chair Stefanie Schiffer states: “The Petersburg dialogue is an institution which has […]