Independent observers recorded numerous violations in the early days of the poll. According to experts, the polls are considered the least free since the beginning of the Vladimir Putin era in Russia, some 24 years ago. Since the start of the war, the repression of dissent has increased enormously in the world’s largest country in terms of area under the leadership of President Putin. Many opposition figures critical of the Kremlin are now in prison camps or have fled abroad.
The Kremlin has also now scheduled mock elections in the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. The results of these polls organized by the occupying power are not recognized internationally.