Skip to main content
Menu Menu Close
Africa
Americas
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Western Asia
Flag

Russian Federation

Monthly Event Reports

March 2024 | Vladimir Putin secures fifth term in office
Election flag

Russia held presidential elections from 15 to 17 March in which President Vladimir Putin secured a fifth term in office against no meaningful opposition. According to the Central Election Commission, Putin secured 87.3 per cent of the vote on 77.44 per cent turnout, up from 77.5 per cent on 67.5 per cent turnout in 2018. There were no women on the ballot and no credible election observers. Boris Nadezhdin, the sole presidential hopeful to oppose Russia’s war on Ukraine, was not permitted to run. Elections were also held in occupied Ukraine, which was condemned by Ukraine, United Nations officials, other world leaders and International IDEA. No women were among the candidates. 

February 2024 | Alexei Navalny dies unexpectedly in prison at 47

Alexei Navalny, political prisoner and Russia’s highest profile and most effective political opponent of President Vladimir Putin, died on 16 February in a maximum security prison in the Russian Arctic. He was 47 years old and serving essentially a life sentence on numerous fabricated charges. The causes of Navalny’s death remain unclear, with Russian authorities maintaining he died of ‘natural causes’, but he had previously been hospitalized for malnourishment and former inmates at the same prison colony told Holod Media of systemic torture and an absence of basic medical care. Navalny’s family blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for his death, as did numerous Western countries and international institutions, directly and indirectly.

January 2024 | Confiscation a new punishment for “fake news”

Russia’s lower house of parliament approved a law that would allow the state to confiscate the property of anyone convicted of disseminating “fake news” about the Russian army, making public calls for extremism or against the security of the state, calling for sanctions against Russia or Russian citizens, and several other offenses. While vague and broad, the bill is widely understood to be aimed at discouraging and punishing anti-war activism. Although Russian law only allows for nonpunitive confiscation of property that was obtained as a result of the underlying crime, experts say its application is likely to be broader, as the burden of proof in such cases is very low and courts routinely fail to hold police to procedural requirements. The bill was drafted by Russian law enforcement bodies, supported by all but one political faction, has the backing of the Cabinet, and is expected to progress quickly through the remaining procedural steps to become law.

December 2023 | Court rules election information laws to cover private individuals
Watch flag

Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on 12 December that electoral laws that bar media organizations from campaigning for or creating materials in support of political candidates also apply to private individuals. The ruling means that producing or disseminating any campaign materials, in person or online, that were not produced by the official campaign can be found illegal and those responsible can be fined up to 2500 RUB (about 30 USD) for each instance. The ruling was intended to ensure that bloggers and social media users would be adequately covered by the legislation in advance of 2024 elections. Speaking to trade publication Advokatskaya Gazeta said the ruling suggests Russia’s upcoming elections will be strictly controlled by the judiciary and other relevant authorities.

Explore past monthly event reports

GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

Chevron

Basic Information

Chevron
Population Tooltip
143 446 060
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (since 2020)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Parallel
Women in lower or single chamber
16.2%
Women in upper chamber
21.9%
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.14
Head of state
President Vladimir Putin
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
14/05/2018
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
60.25%
Population Tooltip
143 446 060
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (since 2020)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Parallel
Women in lower or single chamber
16.2%
Women in upper chamber
21.9%
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.14
Head of state
President Vladimir Putin
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
14/05/2018
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
60.25%
Tooltip text

Human Rights Treaties

Chevron
State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
in
Tooltip text

Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

0 10