# Russia’s elections weren’t always this dishonest: How the system broke down and why voting can still expose fraud

https://mins.news/en/item/63156

- Meduza, 2026-09-17 18:56 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/09/17/russia-s-elections-weren-t-always-this-dishonest-here-s-how-the-system-broke-down-and-why-voting-can-still-expose-fraud

> Russia will elect State Duma deputies from September 18 to 20, amid widespread skepticism that the outcome is already fixed. An anonymous veteran election researcher tells Meduza that violations have become systemic, monitoring has been restricted, and election commissions routinely dismiss or conceal complaints. Evidence from the 2018 Primorye gubernatorial election and the 2021 Duma vote points to fraud that should have invalidated results.

## Stories

- [Russian Parliamentary Elections and Political System](https://mins.news/en/topic/russia-election-and-political-system) — Markdown: https://mins.news/en/topic/russia-election-and-political-system.md

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