Elections in Russia: the 1001 tricks to remove inconvenient candidates

Getting eliminated from Russia’s parliamentary election results from something as simple as posting a photo of a work of art by British artist Banksy on social media. A message in homage of Lemmy Kilmister, the founder of the famous rock group Motörhead, can also unleash the wrath of the Russian authorities. With fewer than seven days before Russia’s elections for members of the State Duma, scheduled for September 18-20, the Kremlin is refining its methods of purging “non grata” candidates. At least 36 candidates have already been disqualified by the electoral authorities, according to a recent investigation published by independent Russian media Verstka. Read moreRussia rights group boss fears post-election crackdown High-profile candidates removed In absolute terms, the number could seem low in view of the 4,436 candidates trying to obtain a seat in Russia’s 450-seat State Duma. The figure doesn’t include the over 10,000 candidates running for regional parliaments. Yet they were candidates who obtained the right to run – most often because they belong to Russia’s so-called “systemic opposition” parties, a term used to describe parties accepted by the Kremlin. “Some of the concern...