Elections in Russia

On the federal level, Russia elects a president as head of state and a legislature, one of the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. The president is elected for, at most, two consecutive six-year terms (raised from four years from December 2008).

Quotes

 * 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.
 * Vladimir Kara-Murza, "As the Kremlin Tightens the Screws, It Invites Popular Revolt" (20 July 2017), Spotlight on Russia, World Affairs Journal


 * 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.
 * Michael McFaul, "Russia’s Road to Autocracy" (October 2021), Journal of Democracy, Vol. 32, Issue 4, pp. 11–26


 * Democracy never took hold in Russia, in the sense that power never changed hands after freely contested elections.
 * Timothy Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom, p. 43


 * The Russian Federation has created limitations that are not conducive to undertaking election observation.
 * Christian Strohal, as quoted in "European Group Cancels Mission to Observe Russian Election, Citing Restrictions" (2008), by C.J. Chivers, The New York Times