Elections which parties were in the Duma. Elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The procedure for holding elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation

Experts predict that after the presidential elections in 2018, the reform of the political system will begin

Photo: Vladimir Afanasiev / Parliamentary Newspaper

Leveling the competitiveness of parties will be one of the main directions of the reform political system in Russia. And one of her vectors will be the consolidation of parties. This was stated by the participants of the meeting of the Parliamentary Newspaper Expert Club, which took place on October 12.

"Multisubjectivity" instead of manual control

The moderator of the Parliamentary Newspaper Expert Club, a political scientist, said that the reform of the political system is overdue, since the existing mechanism for forming the Russian parliament has successfully completed its task of cutting off populist groups from the legislative branch. And, according to him, the drop in voter turnout, which was noted by political scientists on a single voting day on September 10, is “reasonable voter behavior.” The expert believes that the substantive difference of the future reform is that the regime of personal power with one, albeit an excellent leader, will be replaced by "multi-subjectivity".

“The mechanism for making collegial decisions will be stronger than manual control,” Markov said about one of the reform options.

Mikhail Emelyanov. Photo: Igor Samokhvalov / Parliamentary Newspaper

Also, according to him, the scenario is quite real when political parties in Russia will become a platform for the integration of government and big business. For example, he explained, if in some city there is businessman No. 1, then there is also businessman No. 2, who will always be in conflict with the first. Each of them needs its own political support, its own party - such a system works in dozens of countries around the world. In Russia, for the time being, business is placing more emphasis on supporting governors or mayors than deputies. The political scientist believes that the situation should change in favor of the parties.

The voter does not go to the polls, because he is sure that all parties in Russia are the same, and voting is necessary "for show", said the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation, a deputy from the faction " Fair Russia» . The parliamentarian is convinced that the reform of the political system in Russia is impossible without proposals from the parties themselves. According to him, some people in the systemic opposition have been talking about this for a long time, and there are more and more such people.

Ivan Abramov. Photo: Igor Samokhvalov / Parliamentary Newspaper

“No one will break parties over the knee - such a reform will not restore the trust of voters. I think the authorities will mark the path to reform, so that the parties move on it themselves,” the legislator noted.

And now, according to Mikhail Yemelyanov, it is necessary to create a coordinating council for opposition parliamentary parties - this will make it easier to promote initiatives. Especially since, for example, the introduction of a progressive tax scale in Russia is supported by all three opposition Duma factions. Therefore, the union of A Just Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the deputy believes, is “not such a fantastic idea.”

Towards bipartisanship

The reform of the political system will begin immediately after the presidential elections in Russia in March 2018, experts are convinced. And we will hear proposals on how to implement changes already during the pre-election statements of presidential candidates - the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Regional Policy and Problems of the North is sure of this and Far East, deputy from the LDPR faction.

“The demand for a strong opposition has already been formed in society. And the candidate who formulates it will have a great chance of winning,” he said.

Konstantin Babkin. Photo: Igor Samokhvalov / Parliamentary Newspaper

And the parliamentarian sees the essence of the reform in the enlargement of political parties. At the same time, the parliamentarian noted: if the current electoral legislation would work one hundred percent, then the question of the majority party would always be open.

Experts agree that the emergence of a “second major party” along with United Russia will make it possible to get away from a situation where the interests of a huge number of Russians are not expressed in any way during elections. A political strategist Andrey Kolyadin noted: the authorities will not give a signal for reform if there is no specific project to change the political system. As they say, there is no project - there are no solutions.

Andrey Kolyadin. Photo: Igor Samokhvalov / Parliamentary Newspaper

Meanwhile, not everyone is sure that the reform of the political system will begin in 2018. But in 2021, the State Duma will be formed according to a different principle - few people doubt this. In particular, this opinion was expressed to the Parliamentary newspaper by the head of the Party of Affairs Konstantin Babkin.

“Elections will become more competitive, there will be more competition. In any case, our party feels the desire to suppress our political activity, and we really hope for it,” he said.

Elections are difficult and incomprehensible, first of all, for the voter. Understand how it works electoral system in a single country, it is worth a lot. For clarity, of course, it does not hurt to read the Constitution: as experience shows, most people are not even familiar with its first Article, which deals with the foundations of the state system. But Russia is a "democratic federal legal state with a republican form of government." Fertile ground for elections. So we vote: now for the governor, then for the mayor, then for the president. Now - for the deputies.

Each country has its own government which are usually determined by the state constitution. We, in accordance with Article 11, distinguish the following: “The President Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly (Federation Council and the State Duma), the Government of the Russian Federation, the courts of the Russian Federation”.

The President is the head of state and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The government is the executive branch. The Federal Assembly, or Parliament, is representative and Legislature. Parliament in the Russian Federation "consists of two chambers": State Duma and Federation Council. Laws are passed by the lower house (Duma) and approved by the upper house (Federation Council). Moreover, 14 days are given for approval, after which the law is approved automatically. In this sense, it is the lower chamber that becomes the main instance, while the upper chamber, in fact, performs a formal function in adopting laws. Nothing is known about the unapproved laws.

On the basis of popular elections, only the State Duma is formed (out of 450 people), and the Federation Council “includes two representatives from each subject of the Russian Federation: one from the representative and executive bodies state power».
Residents of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of 21 can run for the Duma. The restrictions are the same as everywhere else: not convicted, not held in places of deprivation of liberty, not a citizen foreign country and so on.

Elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation were held six times, respectively, in the recent history of Russia there were six convocations of Dumas: in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011. As you can see, each convocation of the Duma sat for four years, except for the first, which was agreed in the new (at that time) Constitution, and except for the last one, whose powers end a year later, in 2016. This is - new year gift deputies on December 30, 2008, when Medvedev approved amendments to Article 96 of the Constitution, which allowed members of the 6th convocation to sit in the Duma for five years, i.e. for a year more. Article 81 was “amended” at the same time, so that the term of office of Putin (and subsequent presidents, if any) is six years instead of four.

In fact, five constitutional parliamentary years turned into four years and eight months. The sixth convocation was elected on December 4, 2011, but for some reason we elect deputies of the seventh convocation in September. It's simple: they changed the date (the proposal was put forward by Zhirinovsky), once again spitting on the Constitution, moreover, on the Constitution, the amendments to which were themselves adopted for five years instead of four. It is boring and disgusting to read the arguments of the authorities in favor of postponing the elections, so I will only say that the law was finally passed, and everyone signed it, except for the representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, i.e. representatives of three other parties that passed the 7% barrier in the elections: United Russia, Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party. The most interesting thing is that deputies of the 6th convocation will continue finance until December 4, i.е. before the official date of termination of their powers. Therefore, in addition to spending on newly elected deputies, an additional 713 million rubles will have to be allocated from the budget if the seventh convocation turns out to be completely updated (that is, without members of the sixth convocation).

In addition to the postponement of the date, these elections differ from the previous ones in several other aspects. One of the most important is the type of electoral system used. In total there are three possible options, each of which would be useful to describe:

1. Majoritarian system. The most understandable, since in order to be elected, you need to score a majority of votes in a single-mandate constituency. The whole country is divided into these constituencies, each of them covers the same number of voters. There may be several candidates from a particular constituency, but only one is elected (therefore, the constituency is single-member). The majority of votes can be: relative, when it is necessary to "overtake" rivals, and no matter by what percentage; absolute (simple), when it is necessary to gain 50% and 1 more vote, and if necessary, a second round is held (where a relative system can already be used); and qualified (constitutional), when the necessary majority is agreed in advance (for example, ¾ of all voters), as opposed to a simple majority.
A similar system applies to voting in the State Duma. One of the parties may have a parliamentary majority: absolute, if it owns more than 50% of the deputy mandates, and relative, if there are less than half of the mandates, but more than individual parties. In addition, the party may have a constitutional majority, which will allow it to amend the Constitution. In Duma 6, none of the parties had a constitutional majority (2/3 of the chamber), so in order to postpone the same election date, the LDPR (which put forward the law) “had” to enlist the support of other parties. The Duma of the fifth convocation was “ruled” by United Russia, which allowed it to easily introduce amendments to increase the term of office of deputies and the president.

2. Proportional system. The electoral districts form a single federal district covering the territory of the entire country. Voters do not vote for candidates, but for a party that has passed the percentage barrier, more precisely, for its federal list of candidates, which excludes the possibility of self-nomination. Thus, the number of seats in one party proportionately received votes. The mandates received by the party are distributed among the members of the party in accordance with the party list adopted at the party congress, which includes the federal part and regional groups.
The ballot, as a rule, lists the first three candidates from the federal part and from each group (in reality, of course, there are more candidates). The federal part consists of the "elite" of the party, its head or the most media persons and cannot include more than 10 people (looking ahead, let's say that " United Russia"there generally included one person: in 2007 Putin, and in 2011 Medvedev). They are guaranteed to receive mandates when the party passes a certain threshold. The remaining mandates are distributed among regional groups (their number depends on the administrative-territorial structure of the country), which is quite logical: the distribution takes place from top to bottom, and regional party members inevitably lose in popularity to capital ones, so with single list they would have been much less likely to get into the Duma. In addition, with a single list, the likelihood of "paid" places increases.

3. Mixed system. It is also called proportional-majority; this is a combination of features of both systems: half of the candidates are elected from party lists, the other is running from single-mandate constituencies. Of course, some changes are made to the size of the federal list, the number of regional groups is reduced, and so on.

It was the latter option that was used in the elections to the State Duma of the first four convocations (1993, 1995, 1999, 2003), after which it was replaced by a proportional system (elections to the Duma of the fifth (2007) and sixth (2011) convocations).

In February 2014 President signed a law on the return to a mixed system with a 5% entry threshold (for the elections of the seventh convocation), so that now one half of the Duma will be selected from candidates from single-member districts (relative majority), and the other from candidates from federal party lists, and the lists may be duplicated by the same “single-members” (Article 39 Federal Law No. 20-FZ). The number of single-member constituencies is equal to the number of required deputies (225). Accordingly, there are opportunities for self-promotion. In addition, political parties can nominate non-partisans, which also worked under the proportional system. This was the case with Putin in 2007, who topped the list of United Russia without being in its ranks, thereby securing popular support for one party (which is why the party received a constitutional majority). According to article 97 of the Constitution, deputies cannot be on public service, so that popular candidates (Putin, for example) who occupy any positions serve as “locomotives” for the parties, and after the elections they give up their mandates. This makes it possible to increase the popularity of the party in the elections and to "drag" lesser-known candidates from the federal list, to whom mandates can pass.

The elections to the Duma of the 7th convocation were also preceded by the liberalization of the legislation on political parties in April 2012, after the “case of the Republican Party of Russia against Russia” (the wording of the ECtHR) and mass protests under the slogan “For fair elections!”. Now, to create a party, signatures of 500 people are required, and not 40 thousand, as before. As a result, only 74 parties have the right to participate in the September 18 elections, while only seven parties were listed on the ballot for the 2011 elections. With the return of the mixed electoral system, the collection of signatures to submit a list of candidates for some parties was recognized as optional (for example, if more than 3% voted for them in previous elections). This June, the CEC determined that 14 parties did not need signatures, and Required documents passed 22 batches. Thus, eight of them had to find at least 200,000 potential voters by August 3 under one condition: 7,000 signatures from one subject of the federation. Self-nominated - 3% of voters from the number of their single-mandate constituency. If the constituency has less than 100,000 voters, then 500 signatures are sufficient.

All these changes had no effect on the possibilities of the Duma. And there are many of them: the appointment and dismissal of the commissioner for human rights, the chairmen of the Central Bank and the Accounts Chamber; initiation of the procedure for the impeachment of the president and the announcement of an amnesty; expression of a vote of no confidence in the government and the approval of the chairman of the new government.

By the way, about the vote: the President of Russia is considering it. He dissolves the government or disagrees with the arguments of the deputies. In the case of the latter, the chamber may put forward a second vote, but if it does so within three months after the first, then the president either dissolves the government after all, or already dissolves the Duma itself. This minimizes the likelihood of a repeat of 1993.

It is no secret that the importance of the State Duma in recent times significantly decreased, at least in terms of lobbying, or rather, its absence. If the legislature decides practically nothing, then it is pointless to try to promote your interests there, which are not agreed in advance with those whose interests the chamber represents in the first place. The new convocation has two options: leave everything as it is, according to the principle “do not touch it - it will fall apart”, or try to change something, to make the parliament at least a little independent. Changes in the electoral system show that not everything is so hopeless. On the other hand, they could well be a skillfully applied regulator of public sentiment. Which of these is true, we will find out very soon.

For help in preparing the material, many thanks to Vitaly Averin, an expert of the Golos movement.

00:00 RT completes the online broadcast of the single voting day. Thank you for being with us. Keep following the news on our website.

23:55 The RT broadcast is coming to an end. We present you the brightest moments of the election campaign: someone sang, someone remembered Hollywood films, someone bet on cats.

23:48 RT correspondent Yegor Piskunov summarizes the results of a single day of voting.

23:40 Latest on this moment figures: after counting 18.14% of the protocols, United Russia receives 49.22% of the vote, the Liberal Democratic Party - 15.92%, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 15.46%, "Fair Russia" - 6.49%.

23:25 "Fair Russia" recognizes the results of the elections to the State Duma, said party leader Sergei Mironov. “On the whole, the elections to the State Duma of the seventh convocation took place, A Just Russia has no reason to question the results as a whole,” he said.

23:01 According to the CEC, after counting 12.26% of the protocols of precinct election commissions, United Russia is in the lead in 144 single-mandate constituencies, Fair Russia - in six, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party - in four constituencies each.

22:49 Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was pleased with the election result, but Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov believes that his party missed 8-10% of the vote because of twin parties, among which he named the Party of Pensioners and the Communists of Russia. This is reported by the TASS and RIA Novosti agencies.

22:30 According to Pamfilova, during the elections, only one observer in Russia was removed from the polling station by court order. It happened in the Sverdlovsk region, the citizen was drunk.

22:05 Video of speeches by Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev at the United Russia headquarters.

21:56 The head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, said that the elections to the State Duma were legitimate. “There is already complete confidence that the elections are being held quite legitimately. We have done a lot for this, ”TASS quotes Pamfilova.

21:48 The results of the elections to the State Duma showed that society votes for political stability, Vladimir Putin noted. “The situation is not easy, people feel it and want stability in society, the political system,” the Russian president said during a speech at the United Russia election headquarters.

21:42 Latest election data, according to CEC data.

21:35 Speaking at the headquarters of the United Russia party, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced her victory in the elections to the State Duma of the seventh convocation.

21:25 “The result is good,” Vladimir Putin commented on the results achieved in the elections by the United Russia party. The President of Russia summed up the results of the vote, speaking at the headquarters of United Russia.

21:17 The Public Opinion Foundation cites the following exit poll figures: United Russia is in the lead with 48.7% of the vote, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 16.3%, the Liberal Democratic Party - 14.2%, Fair Russia - 7.6%. According to the FOM, Yabloko gained 3.1%, the Pensioners' Party - 1.9%, Rodina - 1.8%, Communists of Russia - 1.5%, Growth Party - 1.4%, PARNAS - 1.0%, Greens - 0.7%, Patriots of Russia - 0.6%, Civic Platform - 0.2%, Civil Force - 0.1% of the vote.

21:08 According to exit polls, four parties are going to the State Duma. It is noted that "United Russia" is gaining 44.5% of the vote, the Liberal Democratic Party - 15.3%, the Communist Party - 14.9%, "Fair Russia" - 8.1%. The Communists of Russia are gaining 2.87% of the vote, the Russian Party of Pensioners for Justice - 2.19%, Rodina - 1.42%, Yabloko - 1.37%, the Growth Party - 1.12%, the Greens ”, - 0.82, Parnassus - 0.70%, Patriots of Russia - 0.69%, Civil Platform - 0.30%. The last place is currently occupied by "Civil Force" - 0.14%.

21:00 CEC announced the preliminary results of the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. RT was broadcasting live.

21:00 Polling stations closed all over Russia. Residents voted last Kaliningrad region, the westernmost region of the country.

20:52 The US State Department has not yet commented on attempts by Ukrainian nationalists to prevent Russians from voting in elections in
State Duma in the building of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv.

“Today we cannot provide anything. Perhaps tomorrow, when the voting is over," TASS quoted the department as saying.

20:32 The voter turnout in the parliamentary elections at 18.00 Moscow time was below 50% in all regions of central Russia except Belgorod region, reports RIA Novosti with reference to the regional election commissions. In all 16 regions of the Central District, the turnout is lower than in the previous 2011 elections.

20:26 According to data provided by the Russian embassy in Kyiv, 369 Russian citizens voted in Ukraine.

20:17 The Moscow City Electoral Committee revealed 16 facts of the issuance of two ballots to people voting by absentee ballots. It is reported by TASS with reference to the chairman election commission Valentina Gorbunova.

“There were signals, they checked, it concerned the fact that according to absentee certificates in a number of polling stations, voters were given two ballots. All signals were verified using video surveillance, 16 such cases were identified, ”Gorbunov said.

20:00 In all regions of Russia (except the Kaliningrad region) polling stations were closed.

19:57 Deputy Interior Minister of Russia Alexander Gorovoy said that the department had recorded facts of ballot stuffing at polling stations in Rostov region.

“Together with colleagues from the Investigative Committee, we are documenting the facts of stuffing at polling stations No. 1958 and No. 1749, where the facts of ballot stuffing have been documented by means of objective control,” Gorovoy was quoted as saying by TASS.

19:49 Regional election commissions reported that the turnout in Crimea and Sevastopol at 18:00 Moscow time exceeded 40%, TASS reports.

19:45 In Moscow, they begin to prepare for the closing of polling stations.

19:35 The Moscow City Electoral Committee reports that as of 18:00, the voter turnout was 28.62%, RIA Novosti reports.

19:27 The first deputy head, Alexander Gorovoy, said that the department was checking reports of stuffing at polling stations in the Rostov region.

19:13 The head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, said that as of 18:00 Moscow time, the turnout was 39.37%.

19:12 Political parties are to blame for the low turnout of voters at polling stations in Moscow, said Valentin Gorbunov, chairman of the IPCC.

“I think that political parties are mainly to blame for such a turnout, which are not actively working with their voters,” the Moskva agency quotes Gorbunov as saying.

19:00 The Central Election Commission reports that as of 17:00 Moscow time, the maximum turnout was recorded in the following regions: Kemerovo region-78.96%, Tyumen region -74.3%, Chechnya -72.16%.

The minimum turnout was recorded in: Moscow region - 21.73%, Moscow - 19.86%, St. Petersburg - 16.12%.

18:56 Russian military serving in Syria voted in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The polling station was opened at the Khmeimim airbase. The military personnel of the base, support units, the Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria and civilian personnel took part in the vote.

18:44 Alexei Venediktov, head of the Public Headquarters for Election Observation in Moscow, asks to cancel the results municipal elections at one of the sites in the Shchukino area due to violations.

18:41 At one of the polling stations in Omsk, a citizen came to cast his vote dressed as Iron Man.

18:19 At one of the polling stations in Moscow, an inspection is being carried out after a report of mining. This was reported by the chairman of the Moscow City Electoral Committee Valentin Gorbunov.

18:00 Deputy Chairman of the CEC of Russia Nikolai Bulaev said that at 15:00 the voter turnout in the elections was 33%, TASS reports.

17:48 In the meantime, colleagues from the English-language television channel RT have prepared a story for their viewers about what exactly is important today.

17:36 The chairman of the electoral committee of the Sverdlovsk region, Valery Chainikov, said that Pokemon catchers at polling stations will face administrative responsibility.

“An attempt to catch a Pokemon is a violation of public order, obstruction of the work of the election commission, article 5.69 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. The police officers know this. One of us tried to catch him, they took him away, ”the chairman of the TASS commission quotes.

17:20 Samir Abdulkhalikov, a member of the Dagestan Electoral Committee, said that the commission was checking messages about ballot stuffing that appeared earlier on social networks.

“In general, the elections in Dagestan are going smoothly. Information about mass ballot box stuffing, which was published in various social networks, is being checked by us. We received one complaint from representatives communist party about violations in the territory of one of the polling stations in the city of Makhachkala. Naturally, we will deal with this issue. Not a single appeal will be left without consideration, ”RIA Novosti quotes a comment from a member of the electoral committee of the republic.

16:55 At a polling station in the Uvelsky district in Chelyabinsk region unknown person opened fire.

“According to preliminary data, the shooting took place in the Uvelsky district. There were no casualties. As a result of the shooting, only the glass broke, ”TASS quoted a source in the law enforcement agencies of the region as saying.

16:51 Ukrainian law enforcers drew up protocols on administrative offenses in a relationship three people detained at the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, and then all three were released.

16:40 The Russian Consulate General in Odessa again blocks access to the diplomatic mission building, preventing Russians who vote from getting inside.

“About 10-15 people again do not let citizens of the Russian Federation into the territory of the consulate. The voting process is still blocked, ”TASS quoted a representative of the diplomatic mission as saying.

16:34 Another RT correspondent voted at polling station 1274 on Stromynka Street. There were few people in the area, he said. But in addition to the table with pies, there is also a tray with children's books. Our correspondents considered this site to be the most "open" - the voting booths here turned out to be without curtains.

16:25 Meanwhile, an RT correspondent told how he voted at polling station 2765, located in the capital's Shuvalov gymnasium in western Moscow. He claims that there is a real full house here: both the elderly and the young, and middle-aged voters. At the entrance to the building you are greeted with a pleasant smell of fresh pastries, on the "delicious tables" - pies with meat - for 40 rubles and with potatoes - for 30. Hot tea is poured for 5 rubles.

16:10 Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said that Moscow is waiting for a report on attacks on Russian polling stations in Ukraine.

15:49 Deputy head of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Nikolai Bulaev said that the department is preparing a request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs demanding that materials with exit poll data be removed from social networks.

“The law prohibits within 5 days before the voting day, as well as on the voting day. The legal department of the rapid response group, having analyzed what is available, will prepare a request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on this matter with a statement to the author of the posted material, and a demand has been sent to remove this material, remove it where it is currently posted, ”RIA Novosti quotes the words Bulaev.

15:32 The Russian Embassy in Ukraine reports that about 100 Russians voted at the polling station in Kyiv.

15:20 The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Altai Territory does not comment on reports of possible violations during the voting in the elections to the State Duma.

“While we leave this issue without comment, the information will be later,” RIA Novosti quoted the agency as saying.

15:12 The Central Election Commission claims that those reporting about “carousels” during the voting are “trying to attract additional attention to themselves” - the facts of violations have not yet been confirmed. This was stated in an interview with RT by the deputy chairman of the CEC of Russia, Nikolai Bulaev.

15:08 The chairman of the electoral committee of the Rostov region, Sergei Yusov, told Ella Pamfilova that a possible attempt to stuff ballots was being investigated at one of the polling stations.

14:55 However, let's not limit ourselves to news from Moscow and Kyiv - after all, elections are held throughout Russia. In Magas, for example, the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, voted today. Yevkurov trusted his children, Itar, Ramazan, Dali, and Magomed, to drop the ballots into the ballot box.

14:30 Many of the Russians who came to the Russian embassy in Kyiv for the State Duma elections are leaving without voting. An RT correspondent reports this from the scene.

14:26 112 Ukraine reports that the Kyiv police detained a man who beat a Russian at a polling station in the embassy.

14:22 The head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, voted in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the VII convocation, RIA Novosti reports.

14:12 The press service of the Svoboda party reported that in Kyiv, when trying to block Russian embassy and the polling station was detained by its deputy Volodymyr Nazarenko, 112 Ukraine reports.

14:09 Ukrainian radicals are shouting through megaphones to Russian voters that each of them is an “accomplice in crime” and “blood will be on their hands,” an RT correspondent in Russian reports from the scene.

14:05 Andrey Nesterenko, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Ukraine had promised to accept additional measures for the protection of the Russian polling station in Kyiv.

13:54 The interlocutor of TASS denied the information that there were two attackers.

13:47 A citizen who threatened to detonate a bomb at a polling station was taken to the police department for investigation, TASS reports. According to the agency, a dummy bomb was seized from the detainee. No explosive devices were found on him. The polling station is operating normally.

13:35 The second provocateur, according to preliminary data, barricaded himself inside the polling station in Armenian Lane in the center of Moscow.

13:28 Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that one of the provocateurs who threatened to blow up the polling station had been detained.

Thank you police officers. At the 10th polling station, a provocateur who threatened to blow up was quickly and professionally detained

— Sergei Sobyanin (@MosSobyanin) September 18, 2016

13:10 “According to preliminary information, an unknown man entered the polling station in Armenian lane, who threatens to explode", - RIA Novosti quotes a source in the law enforcement agencies of Moscow.

13:03 A man with a suspected explosive device walked into a polling station in downtown Moscow.

12:57 Russian President Vladimir Putin voted in the elections to the State Duma of the country.

• RIA News

12:51 The only Russian at the International space station Anatoly Ivanishin voted in the elections to the State Duma. Voting was carried out through a proxy, deputy commander of the cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko.

12:42 Representatives of the "Right Sector" ( extremist organization, banned in Russia) tried to disrupt the voting in the elections to the State Duma of Russia in Odessa.

According to RIA Novosti, the radicals did not allow two people to enter the consulate, blocking their passage. After a small scuffle, the police detained two people.

12:37 The entrance to the Russian embassy in Kyiv is still blocked. This is reported from the scene by an RT correspondent in Russian. One of the provocateurs was detained.

• Reuters

12:28 A Russian who came to vote in the elections to the State Duma was beaten up near the Russian embassy in Kyiv. This is reported from the scene by an RT correspondent in Russian.

12:12 Ukrainian Minister Georgiy Tuka said that criminal cases would be opened against the organizers of voting in the Russian State Duma elections in Crimea, 112 Ukraine TV channel reports.

12:03 In the Kamchatka Territory and Chukotka autonomous region The polling stations for the elections to the State Duma of Russia were closed, and the counting of votes began.

12:00 Ella Pamfilova said that against the authors of statements about the "carousels" with absentee ballots, which allegedly take place in today's voting, lawsuits for libel can be filed, RIA Novosti reports.

Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, also confirmed that no violations were recorded in the Moscow region.

11:45 One of the men kept a large dog on a leash and did not let voters who intended to vote in the Russian State Duma elections enter the building.

11:37 Three people, including Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Svoboda faction Igor Miroshnichenko, blocked the entrance to the Russian embassy in Kyiv

11:23 Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov voted at polling station No. 142, while the leader of the Just Russia party Sergei Mironov voted at polling station No. 73 in Moscow, RIA Novosti reports.

11:12 Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Special Representative of the President of Russia for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov voted at polling station No. 90 at Moscow School No. 87, RIA Novosti reports.

11:08 Deputy Chairman of the CEC Nikolai Bulaev announced turnout of more than 10% of voters as of 11:00 Moscow time.

10:50 Ella Pamfilova urged Russian citizens to come to the polls

“Dear citizens of Russia, come! The choice is wide - 14 parties, ”RIA Novosti quotes the head of the CEC.

10:36 Rashid Temrezov was elected head of Karachay-Cherkessia.

10:35 The Election Commission of Chechnya reports that approximately 18% of voters have voted in the elections so far, TASS reports.

10:26 Ella Pamfilova, commenting, said that the elections in the region could be cancelled.

“Now, so that there are no speculations, we are dealing with the situation that has developed in the Altai Territory. I received all the information directly. If those facts... are confirmed, we will take the most serious measures, even if there are grounds, we will initiate criminal cases and consider the advisability of canceling the elections ”, — quotes the words of Pamfilova RIA Novosti.

10:22 Recall that elections to the lower house of parliament are held according to a mixed system. According to the party lists, 225 deputies will be elected and another 225 will be elected by the majoritarian system.

10:15 The head of the CEC of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, said that a criminal case could be opened on the fact of violations during the voting in the Altai Territory, RIA Novosti reports.

10:13 The parties "United Russia", the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party announced that they would hold press conferences on the results of the elections at the TASS agency on Monday, September 19.

9:51 At the same time, in North Ossetia, the parliament elected Vyacheslav Bitarov as head of the republic.

9:37 RIA Novosti reports that the chairman of the LDPR party Vladimir Zhirinovsky already voted in the elections to the State Duma of Russia in the polling station on Matveevskaya Street in Moscow. The politician declined to comment.

9:29 The Russian diplomatic mission in the United States reports that voting in the elections to the Russian State Duma in the United States will take place at 13 polling stations: eight of them will be specially opened in cities where there are no Russian diplomatic missions and consulates.

9:26 TASS reports that Yabloko candidate Vladimir Ryzhkov announced that falsifications are being prepared in the 39th Barnaul constituency.

“It became known to me that a scheme of the so-called “cruise voting” is being prepared in Barnaul,” the politician of the agencies quotes as saying.

• Broadcasting images from surveillance cameras installed at polling stations on a monitor at the Central Election Commission on a single voting day.
• RIA News

9:23 The head of the electoral committee of the Republic of Crimea, Mikhail Malyshev, said that all polling stations were opened on the territory of the peninsula. Elections to the lower house of the Russian parliament are being held in Crimea for the first time.

“1,207 polling stations have been formed on the territory of the Republic of Crimea. They all opened on time. The situation is calm, ”RIA Novosti quotes the functionary.

8:51 The Russian Consulate General in Odessa told RIA Novosti that the voting on the territory of the diplomatic mission was proceeding without incident.

On September 21, 1993, Russian President B. Yeltsin issued a decree "On a phased constitutional reform in the Russian Federation", which ordered "to interrupt the exercise of legislative, administrative and control functions by the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation." This decree put into effect the Regulations on the Election of Deputies of the State Duma.

On December 12, 1993, ELECTIONS TO THE FIRST STATE DUMA of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the new federal legislative body of the country, took place.

Elections were held for the first time under a mixed - majoritarian-proportional system /before that - only in single-mandate constituencies/. Half of the 450 deputies were elected in 225 single-mandate constituencies, the other half of the deputies - in a single federal constituency on party lists.

91 public associations had the right to participate in the elections. 35 associations expressed their desire to fight for deputy mandates. Lists of candidates for registration were submitted by 21 electoral associations. The Central Election Commission registered lists of 13 of them. 8 associations have overcome the 5% threshold, which gives the right to receive mandates.

On December 12, 1993, 444 deputies were elected: 225 - one by one federal district and 219 - in single-mandate constituencies. Elections were not held in five constituencies, in one /Chechen Republic/ - they were not held.

The turnout was 54.7 percent. voters at the required threshold of 25 percent.

The favorite of the campaign - the electoral bloc "Russia's Choice" received 15.51 percent. votes of voters; including single-mandate members - 66 seats in parliament /top three: Yegor Gaidar, Sergei Kovalev, Ella Pamfilova/;

The Liberal Democratic Party won a sensational victory on the party lists, receiving 22.92 percent. votes of voters; 64 mandates in total /Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Viktor Kobelev, Vyacheslav Marychev/;

The Communist Party was supported by 12.40 percent. voters; 48 mandates in total /Gennady Zyuganov, Vitaly Sevastyanov, Viktor Ilyukhin/;

Agrarian Party of Russia /APR/ - 7.99 percent. votes, 33 mandates /Mikhail Lapshin, Alexander Zaveryukha, Alexander Davydov/;

Block: Yavlinsky-Boldyrev-Lukin - 7.86 percent. votes, 27 mandates /Grigory Yavlinsky, Yuri Boldyrev, Vladimir Lukin/;

The political movement "Women of Russia" - 8.13 percent. votes, 23 mandates /Alevtina Fedulova, Ekaterina Lakhova, Natalia Gundareva/;

The consignment Russian unity and consent /PRES/ - 6.73 percent. votes, 19 mandates /Sergei Shakhrai, Alexander Shokhin, Konstantin Zatulin/;

Democratic Party of Russia /DPR/ - 5.52 percent. votes, 14 seats /Nikolai Travkin, Stanislav Govorukhin, Oleg Bogomolov/.

8 factions were registered in the First Duma, as well as 2 deputy groups /at least 35 deputies/: LDPR factions /59 deputies/, "Choice of Russia" /73/, Communist Party of the Russian Federation /45/, "Women of Russia" /23/, APR / 55/, "YABLOKO" /28/, PRES /30/, DPR /15/; deputy groups "New Regional Policy" /66/ and "Liberal Democratic Union on December 12" /35/.

ELECTIONS TO THE STATE DUMA OF THE SECOND CONVENTION on December 17, 1995 were held in accordance with the Federal Laws "On Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights of Citizens of the Russian Federation" and "On Elections of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation".

The elections were held according to the majority-proportional system.

Voter turnout was high. 64.7 percent participated in the elections. voters or more than 69.5 million people, which is 11 million more than in the 1993 elections. The required voter turnout threshold is 25 percent.

The peculiarity of these elections was that all 450 deputies were elected at once.

From 269 public associations, who had the right to participate in the elections, 69 parties, movements and blocs put forward their lists of candidates. 43 associations participated in the elections, and only 4 of them managed to overcome the required 5% threshold.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation became the winner of the campaign - 22.3 percent. votes; a total of 157 mandates /Gennady Zyuganov, Svetlana Goryacheva, Amangeldy Tuleev/;

The party in power was represented by the movement "Our Home - Russia" /NDR/ - 10.13%. votes; 55 seats /Viktor Chernomyrdin, Nikita Mikhalkov, Lev Rokhlin/;

Public association "YABLOKO" - 6.89 percent. votes; 45 mandates /Grigory Yavlinsky, Vladimir Lukin, Tatyana Yarygina/.

The winning associations formed parliamentary factions, and deputies who were not included in the factions formed deputy groups /numbering at least 35 people/: Communist Party factions /146 people/, NDR /66/, LDPR /51/, YABLOKO /46/; deputy groups "Russian Regions" /43/, "People's Power" /38/ and the Agrarian Deputy Group /36/.

ELECTIONS TO THE STATE DUMA OF THE THIRD CONVOCATION were held on December 19, 1999. Elections were held according to the majority-proportional system. The turnout was 61.85 percent. or 66.8 million people with the required 25 percent.

37 all-Russian political public associations out of 141 announced their intention to participate in the elections. 26 were included in the ballots, 6 associations overcame the required 5% barrier:

The electoral bloc "Interregional Movement "Unity" / "BEAR" / - 23.32 percent of the vote; 73 mandates / Sergei Shoigu, Alexander Karelin, Alexander Gurov /;

The electoral bloc "Fatherland - All Russia" - 13.33 percent. votes; 68 mandates /Evgeny Primakov, Yuri Luzhkov, Vladimir Yakovlev/;

The electoral bloc "Union of Right Forces" - 8.52 percent. votes; 29 mandates /Sergey Kiriyenko, Boris Nemtsov, Irina Khakamada/;

In eight single-mandate constituencies, the elections were declared invalid /repeated elections were held on March 26, 2000/, in the Chechen single-mandate constituency, elections were held later - on August 20, 2000.

441 out of 450 people were elected deputies.

6 factions and 3 deputy groups were registered in the Duma: the Communist Party factions / 86 deputies /, Unity / 84 /, Fatherland - All Russia / 44 /, Union of Right Forces / 32 /, YABLOKO / 19 / , LDPR /16/; parliamentary groups People's Deputy" / 62 / and " Regions of Russia" / 44 /, Agro-industrial deputy group / 42 /.

ELECTIONS TO THE STATE DUMA OF THE FOURTH CONVOCATION were held on December 7, 2003. Elections were held according to the majority-proportional system. 55.75 percent took part in the elections. voters or 60.7 million citizens.

44 political parties and 20 public organizations had the right to participate in the elections. 39 parties and 1 social organization. A total of 18 parties and 5 electoral blocs participated in the campaign. The 5% threshold was overcome by 3 political parties and 1 electoral bloc.

The party "United Russia" won a convincing victory - 37.57%. votes; 223 mandates in total /Boris Gryzlov, Sergei Shoigu, Yuri Luzhkov, Mintimer Shaimiev/;

The sensation of this election campaign was the success of the Rodina bloc (People's Patriotic Union) created on the eve of the elections - 9.02 percent of the vote; 37 mandates / Sergey Glazyev, Dmitry Rogozin, Valentin Varennikov /;

The failure of the Democrats was a surprise - neither Yabloko /4.30 percent/ nor the Union of Right Forces /3.97 percent/ made it into the State Duma.

On December 7, 447 out of 450 deputies were elected: 225 in the federal constituency and 222 in single-mandate districts. In three single-mandate constituencies, the elections were declared void, as the majority of voters there voted against all candidates.

Four factions were created in the Duma of the fourth convocation: United Russia /300 deputies/, Communist Party of the Russian Federation /52/, LDPR /36/, Rodina /36/.

ELECTIONS TO THE STATE DUMA OF THE FIFTH CONVOCATION were held on December 2, 2007. Elections for the first time were held according to the proportional system - according to federal lists of candidates nominated by political parties. The entry barrier was raised from 5 percent. up to 7 percent; the formation of electoral blocs was not envisaged; the column "against all" and the threshold for turnout in elections were cancelled.

15 parties had the right to take part in the elections, 11 of them were able to use this right. These are the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party, United Russia, Just Russia, Union of Right Forces, Yabloko, Patriots of Russia, the Democratic Party, Civil Force, the Agrarian Party and the Party of Social Justice.

According to the voting results, four parties overcame the 7% barrier. "United Russia" / 1 candidate was included in the federal part of the list - Vladimir PUTIN / 64.30 percent. votes /, Communist Party / Gennady ZYUGANOV, Zhores ALFEROV, Nikolai KHARITONOV / - 11.57 percent; LDPR /Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY, Andrei LUGOVOI, Igor Lebedev/ - 8.14 percent; "Fair Russia" /Sergey MIRONOV, Svetlana Goryacheva/ - 7.74 percent. The remaining parties fell short of 2.5 percent.

At the time of the elections, there were about 109 million 146 thousand voters in the country. About 70 million citizens /63.78 percent/ took part in the voting. It was the highest turnout for the previous three Duma election campaigns.

Four factions were formed in the Duma of the fifth convocation: "United Russia" / 315 deputies - a constitutional majority /, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation / 57 /, the Liberal Democratic Party / 40 /, "Fair Russia" / until 2009 - "Fair Russia: Motherland / Pensioners, Life / 38 /.

This election has become unique in its way. Many political scientists agreed that the 2016 campaign became a kind of “stress test” for the entire political system in Russia.

And now we can say that the test was successfully passed. It's about not even about who won and who got more votes. As never before, attention was paid to the electoral political processes themselves.

However, first a little about the numbers.

"Four parties are entering the State Duma: United Russia (44.5%), LDPR (15.3%), Communist Party of the Russian Federation (14.9%), Just Russia (8.1%)," the CEO said. VTsIOM Valery Fedorov on the air of the Rossiya 1 TV channel.

Also, according to a poll at the exit from the polling stations, "Communists of Russia" are gaining 2.6% of the vote, "Rodina" - 2.3% of the vote, the Russian Party of Pensioners "For Justice" - 2%, "Party of Growth" - 1.8% , "Parnassus" - 1.2%, "Green" - 0.8%, "Civil Platform" - 0.3%, "Civil Force" - 0.2%.

Also, according to the Public Opinion Foundation, United Russia will have 48.7 percent of the vote, the Liberal Democratic Party - 14.2 percent, the Communist Party - 16.3 percent, and A Just Russia - 7.6 percent.

Note that the final data will be available after counting all ballots in all regions of the country.

According to the results of processing 10% of the final protocols, in the elections to the State Duma, United Russia is gaining 45.95% of the vote, the Liberal Democratic Party - 17.4%, the Communist Party - 16.76%, the SR - 6.36%, the CEC reported.

Non-parliamentary parties "Rodina", "Civic Platform" and "Party of Growth" pass to the State Duma in single-mandate districts at the time of counting 8.00% of the protocols, receiving one seat each, according to the data of the CEC of Russia.

"People have shown a civil position. The turnout is not the highest it was in the previous campaign, but it is high... We know that people live not easy, there are many problems, but the result is what it is. It is safe to say that United Russia won the majority," the President of Russia said.

"Preliminary results, according to which United Russia is gaining an absolute majority in the new State Duma, testify to the political maturity of the Russian civil society", Putin said.

He added that “although it is difficult and difficult for the people, the people voted for United Russia. The party’s work is not complete without controversial issues, but apart from it, no one solves the country’s main problems better. United Russia accurately performs that function for which the party was created," the head of state explained.

"The result is good, our party will have an absolute majority, but what kind of majority it is will be determined as a result of the vote count," said Prime Minister and head of the majority party Dmitry Medvedev.

In turn, the Secretary of the General Council of "United Russia" Sergei Neverov said that people supported the course towards the independence and self-sufficiency of the country, towards stability. "It was this support that was reflected in the results announced by sociologists and the Central Election Commission," he said.

The LDPR recognizes the results of the elections to the State Duma and evaluates the elections positively, party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said. "Of course, we recognize the elections and evaluate them positively," he said. Zhirinovsky also noted that "certain violations took place," but they are not significant.

The Just Russia party also stated that it recognizes the results of the elections to the State Duma. "In general, I believe that the elections to the State Duma of the 7th convocation took place. The Just Russia party has no reason to question the results," said party leader Sergei Mironov .

The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov on the TV channel "Russia-24" said that the supporters of the party intend to hold a series of actions following the results of the last elections to the State Duma. “We will not give our votes. Actions are scheduled for September 19-20 in support of fair and decent elections everywhere," Gennady Zyuganov grumbles. However, it is with such wording that he constantly grumbles - which does not prevent the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and personally Zyuganov from sitting in parliament after each election, receiving significant deputy salaries.

"United Russia" won a majority in 79 out of 89 single-mandate constituencies, the Liberal Democratic Party - in four, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - only in two. Candidates of "A Just Russia", "Motherland", "Civic Platform" and the Party of Growth have one mandate each," the CEC said. , referring to the data of the state automated system "Vybory".

For example, Sergei Markov noted the high turnout in the Far East: “There are two reasons for the higher turnout. There are many new small parties, that's why their voters go to the polls. And citizens are more supportive of power after the Western attack on Putin, after the catastrophe in Ukraine and after Crimea.”

"The results of the elections were expected. The pattern of the campaign was such that single-mandate candidates pulled the campaign. Those who had a sufficient number of strong single-mandate members to close a certain number of constituencies had a chance, and those who did not, could show as many videos as they wanted and the company in news on the Internet: voters do not like electoral schizophrenia, when it is necessary to vote for a person from one party, and for a brand from another,” said political scientist Alexei Chadaev.

“Small non-parliamentary parties had chances, of course, but simply no one understood this drawing of the election campaign, which says that, firstly, single-member candidates are locomotives, and secondly, the local agenda dominates the federal one. how to equip Russia, the planet, Ukraine, Syria, but about how to equip the yard, the entrance, the neighboring school, and so on,” Chadayev said.

"Our glamorous party, stuffed with all sorts of old new parties, was not ready for this, which the result showed," the expert summed up.

"In turn, the whole system and players have been updated. Love for the country and patriotism are important aspects for the voter today. The LDPR improved its result; confirmed its status as the Just Russia parliamentary party; the Motherland party and small parties showed a decent result, divided among themselves the votes of, let's say, the protest vote. Representatives of these parties will be in parliament as winners in single-mandate constituencies, "explained political scientist Alexei Martynov.

Dmitry Abzalov, Vice-President of the Center for Strategic Communications, also commented on the level of turnout and the course of electoral procedures: “Turnout is still quite typical, which is due to several factors. On the one hand, there are single-mandate members, which increases interest in the election campaign, on the other hand, we do not have any internal anguish in the political campaign, such internal protest activity, so the interest there is not so high.”

The research director of the Institute for Socio-Economic and political issues"(ISEPI) Alexander Pozhalov. According to him, "in the first hours of voting local time in many regions of Siberia and the Far East, voter activity was higher than in 2011."

In general, the slogan under which the current campaign was held is legitimacy, honesty, and transparency. Even now, by the fact that there were fewer violations during the voting, we can say that the Russian electoral system has qualitatively evolved. No matter how pathetic it may sound, democracy won in these elections to the State Duma.

This is especially important, since now the country needs the most legitimate government. At the same time, the power that the people consciously chose. By the way, that is why the role of single-mandate deputies has grown so much in the framework of the current campaign. And a large percentage of the votes were received by those who directly met with voters. What Vyacheslav Volodin spoke about at a meeting with political scientists - about the court as a unit of political space, has fully come true.

In addition to the global agenda, voters also have specific, local problems that they want to solve with the help of the authorities they elect. Meetings with voters also became a "stress test". But not for the entire political system, but directly for the candidates. Who successfully "tested" - will show the results of the vote.

Another interesting fact. Even the Crimean Tatars in the elections to the State Duma show "unprecedented turnout, demonstrating full solidarity with Russian people". This was stated to Life by the Deputy Prime Minister of the government of the region Ruslan Balbek." The national factor was actively used for 2.5 years external forces as a destabilizer. The Crimean Tatars took this as a challenge to themselves and are showing unprecedented activity in the elections today. The turnout among them will be high, for 25 years of such turnout in elections among Crimean Tatars never happened," he explained.

"The elections are held openly and legitimately. Judging by the reports of the Central Election Commission, no serious violations have been recorded. Equal conditions for competition have been created for all parties participating in the elections," the press service of the movement quotes co-chairman of the Central Headquarters of the ONF Alexander Brechalov.

In general, already now a number of politicians and experts note high level open and direct competition between parties and candidates. In general, this year's campaign itself was as public as possible. And the winner is the one who has shown himself to be a competent specialist.

According to Sergei Neverov, United Russia considers it a priority to hold legitimate elections to the State Duma, and not the number of votes received on voting day.” And such a vision of political processes is relevant not only for United Russia, but also for any political party that wants to win this season.

There is no task to win at any cost, moreover, "at any cost" now you will not win. Violations are monitored as carefully as possible.

Non-electoral technologies are detected promptly, and they are followed by a tough reaction. The reaction, at the same time, again, is as public as possible, which hurts the reputation of parties and violating candidates among voters going to vote.

So the co-leader of the movement for the protection of the rights of voters "Golos" Grigory Melkonyants, has already told the media that although all the problems have not been completely eradicated, "an improvement in the general climate is noted."

"The election climate is a little better than it was in 2011. "Of course, the position of the CEC, which the CEC broadcast to the regions, was heard by someone, but there are isolated cases," he concluded.

According to the Director General of the Center political information Aleksey Mukhin, “The CEC is in very close connection with law enforcement and the prosecutor's office, and in this respect we can be calm.” At the same time, the political scientist specifically noted: “Knowing a little Ella Alexandrovna Pamfilova, I believe that this will happen. The CEC controls the situation quite tightly, including in the regions. Conducts, as far as I know, significant work to prevent violations. Many candidates are very active, many have already made statements that they have recorded certain violations. This, of course, is also very quickly understood. Literally in live. I think that such an operational situation, which we are now observing, allows us to say that in general, these elections can be considered not only held, but their results will be legitimate.”

Wherein important point is that some global, systematic violations was not found. This is said by both Russian and foreign experts and observers. For example, a member of the Public Chamber, Lyubov Dukhanina, noted in an interview that “candidates for deputies from all parties have done real job with voters, offered their programs. And today people really have the opportunity to make a choice. But most importantly, the entire election campaign was really open. And there was a lot of information this year. Now the most important thing is that the elections are fair and legitimate.”

Confirms the words of Dukhanina and well-known TV journalist Yevgeny Revenko, who voted in Voronezh. According to him, “people in Voronezh actively went to the polls. Nowhere have any significant violations been recorded that could affect the will of citizens. And United Russia, like no one else, is interested in fair, clean, transparent elections, so that no one has any doubts about the legitimacy of this vote.”

Vladimir Vasilyev, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, head of the United Russia faction, also noted the increased openness and competitiveness of the current campaign. He stated that "today's elections are being held in an open and competitive atmosphere." “14 parties are fighting for the mandates of State Duma deputies - twice as many as in the last elections in 2011. Equal conditions were created for all participants so that they could present their programs, and people could evaluate them, compare them with each other,” Vasilyev said, emphasizing that “now much will depend on the choice of each of us, on our civic position and indifference."

"Our party set the task of legitimacy. A lot has been done for this - we held a preliminary vote, we were able to invite many representatives of civil society into our ranks, who brought with them the respect of the people. And we also reduced the number of candidate governors, so we are convinced that that these results and elections are competitive and legitimate," he said.

"We set the task of renewing the Party and meeting the expectations of society. This surprises some, but we intend to seriously change the situation. It is a huge responsibility to contact people and ask the best of them to come and take a seat in parliament. But we must answer for it," the politician said.

"United Russia" in the pre-election period monitored the new laws. We are the only ones who took the laws on forestry, land, trade and started monitoring together with people. This is already yielding results: the share of locally produced goods in the chains has increased. There are qualitative changes in the interests of the people," he concluded.

At the same time, citizens make a choice, and they do it very actively. According to the head of the Petersburg Politics Foundation, Mikhail Vinogradov, “the turnout of voters in the elections to the State Duma of the seventh convocation refuted the pessimistic forecasts of some analysts who predicted extremely low activity Russians."

Agree with him CEO Center for Political Information Aleksey Mukhin, who stated that “as electoral activity approaches in central Russia, in the western regions, especially in the south, turnout will increase. And it will reach more than 50 percent.”

At the same time, work to increase legitimacy and competitiveness was done not only by United Russia, but also by other political parties. For example, they actively developed the social agenda of the SR and the Communist Party. In general, within the framework of the current campaign social issues have been a popular topic for so many political movements.

As for the victory of United Russia, one must understand that this is also a huge responsibility of the party to the whole country. However, the EP candidates did a great job, from the primaries to the final voting day. As part of these procedures, really competent people, professionals, got into the lists of United Russia. Which in these lists was elected by the people at a preliminary vote.

At the same time, United Russia did not field its candidates in 19 single-mandate constituencies. And this was done consciously, within the framework of open political competition. Because these constituencies already have strong, professional opposition candidates.

In general, the level of competition has increased in the current election season. The ballot lists 14 parties instead of the seven allowed to vote last year. That is, a variety of social strata can receive political representation in the State Duma Russian society, and importantly, the political spectrum of parties covers all social strata.

Experts predict that the new State Duma will be a space for constant political dialogue. United Russia is ready to speak with constructive opposition and, moreover, to listen to the opinion of this opposition. Such a dialogue is conditioned by the very logic of the current electoral processes and the choice of citizens. It was those who were ready to speak competently and constructively both with the electorate and with competitors in the political struggle who entered the Duma.

In general, positioning itself as "Putin's and Medvedev's parties" played a separate and important role in the victory of ER. The ratings of the first persons of the state also increased the level of public confidence in United Russia.

We can say that the current campaign was somewhat calmer than the previous ones in terms of crises, scandals and violations. And this testifies to the development and "maturing" of the political system in Russia as a whole.