>>512975469
here's a nice summary of what a dictatorship actually looks like.
Main Candidate: Vladimir Putin (running as an independent)
Opposition: No strong opposition candidates were allowed to run
Concerns and Criticisms
1. Lack of Real Opposition
Many prominent critics were barred from running, including anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny (who died in prison in February 2024).
Other liberal or reformist candidates were denied registration over technicalities.
Approved candidates were considered βsystemic oppositionββthey did not fundamentally challenge Putin's rule.
2. State Control Over Media
Russian state-run media heavily favored Putin, giving disproportionate coverage to his campaign and virtually ignoring or discrediting other candidates.
Independent media outlets were shut down, censored, or declared βforeign agents.β
3. Voter Intimidation and Coercion
Reports emerged of public sector employees being pressured to vote or to show proof of having voted.
Mobile ballot boxes and online voting were criticized for being opaque and vulnerable to manipulation.
Human rights organizations reported observers being harassed or denied access to polling stations.
4. Election Monitoring Restrictions
The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) was not invited to monitor the electionβa major red flag.
Independent Russian election watchdogs, like Golos, were labeled βforeign agentsβ and had limited ability to observe.
Was It Fair?
No, by international democratic standards.
Almost all independent observersβincluding Western governments, human rights groups, and election expertsβdo not consider the 2024 election (or previous ones under Putin) to be free or fair.
Putinβs increasing use of state repression, control over media and the judiciary, and exclusion of viable opposition have made elections in Russia largely symbolic rather than competitive.