Russia's presidential 'elections'
On the 13th March 2024 the IISH organized in collaboration with the Moscow Times an event to reflect on Russia's presidential elections, past, present and future.
It was already clear that Putin would declare himself as the elected president of the Russian Federation for yet another six years. Since the start of this millennium he has ruled the country in an increasingly authoritarian way. Elections in Russia have since become a farce, a kind of political theatre or circus that has little to do with democracy. The field of candidates is tightly controlled, opposition politicians sidelined, jailed or murdered and the election results are falsified. How did this come about? When was democracy lost in Russia – or was it perhaps an empty letter from the very start? What purposes do elections serve in Russia's political system if not the election of the country's leaders?
Gijs Kessler (IISH) and Mikhail Fishman (TV-Rain) gave a presenation to answer all of these questions, followed by a panel discussion with Kristina Petrasova (Free Russia NL), Samantha Berkhead and Alexander Gubsky (both Moscow Times).
Watch the video below.
