2021 Russian legislative election

Legislative elections were held in Russia from 17 to 19 September 2021 to elect all 450 seats of the State Duma. Going into the elections, United Russia was the ruling party after winning the 2016 elections with 343 of the 450 seats and retaining a supermajority. In March 2020, it was proposed to hold a snap election in September 2020 due to proposed constitutional reforms, but this idea was abandoned. On 18 June 2021, Vladimir Putin signed a decree calling the election for 19 September the same year. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, voting in the election lasted for three days, from 17 to 19 September. Final turnout was reported to be 51.72%. Fifteen political parties applied for participation, 14 of which were guaranteed automatic access to the ballots, and one unsuccessfully attempted to be included in the ballot by collecting voters' signatures. Half, or 225 seats, of the State Duma were elected through legislative constituencies; the other 225 seats were elected through party lists, which cover the whole of Russia. Like prior elections in Russia, the election was not free and fair. Many episodes of ballot-stuffing, forced voting, and other irregularities were recorded. Putin's administration and the ruling United Russia party used a managed democracy approach to keep an appearance of political pluralism. The election was marred by the nation's most prominent opposition leaders (particularly those associated with jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny) and figures being excluded from the ballot, imprisoned or exiled in months coming before the election. Authorities also designated various independent media outlets and non-governmental organisations as "foreign agents", including the independent election monitor Golos. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also said that it would not send observers for the first time since 1993 due to "major limitations" imposed by...