Elections in Russia
political elections for public offices in Russia
Elections in Russia are held at the federal, regional, and local levels. At the federal level, voters elect a president as head of state and choose members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. The Federation Council, the upper house, is not directly elected but is composed of representatives appointed by the executive and legislative bodies of each federal subject.
Russia's electoral system formally provides for universal suffrage, multiparty competition, and periodic elections at all levels of government. However, since the early 2000s, independent observers, international monitoring organizations, and comparative democracy researchers have consistently documented the progressive erosion of competitive elections. Political opposition is suppressed through legal restrictions on candidacy, the harassment and imprisonment of opposition figures, and extensive state control over mass media. Electoral fraud has been documented in numerous elections. Political scientists classify Russia's political system as a form of competitive authoritarianism or a hybrid regime, combining formal democratic institutions with authoritarian practice.
The Economist Intelligence Unit classified Russia as an authoritarian regime in its 2024 Democracy Index, and Freedom House rated it as Not Free in its 2025 Freedom in the World report, citing the absence of genuine electoral competition, pervasive state repression, and systematic fraud.
Federal structure and electoral framework
The Federal Assembly
The Federal Assembly (Federalnoye Sobraniye) is bicameral, consisting of the State Duma (lower house) and the Federation Council (upper house).
“Elections in Russia” enters the record as political elections for public offices in Russia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Elections, Russia and political can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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