Russia

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in May 2012 after winning the deeply flawed 4 March election. In response to growing civil society activism and an increasingly outspoken protest movement, he immediately adopted a series of repressive measures. The government imposed draconian new fees on people arrested for participating in unsanctioned demonstrations, recriminalized slander, enacted legislation labeling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with funding from abroad as 'foreign agents,' introduced a new mechanism for blocking websites, and expanded the definition of treason to include many forms of contact with foreigners and international organizations. Putin also worked to hollow out political concessions made earlier. For example, a law signed in May allowed the first direct gubernatorial elections in eight years, but the Kremlin used a screening system built into the legislation to eliminate the strongest opposition candidates and ensure victory for representatives of the ruling United Russia party. Citizen activists sought ways to counter this state crackdown. The most prominent leaders used internet-based voting to set up a Coordinating Council tasked with facilitating opposition cooperation in future elections and institutionalizing resistance to the regime. However, the movement faced stiff headwinds. The authorities used their control of the national television networks to disseminate propaganda aimed at undermining the credibility of the opposition in the eyes of the broader public. Meanwhile, systemic corruption, from the heights of the energy industry to the most mundane aspects of municipal government, transferred a considerable share of the country’s wealth into the accounts of well-connected individuals, limiting spending on social needs and hindering attempts to diversify the economy beyond extractive industries.