Melkonyants was arrested in August 2023 in connection with the activities of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which was co-founded by Golos's legal predecessor, the Golos association.
In an interview with pro-Russian state journalist Pavel Zarubin for the documentary, Putin confirmed he assesses the potential of each possible successor. "Yes, I do," he replied when asked directly.
The move is regarded as a demotion initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who appointed Andrei Turchak earlier this month to serve as governor of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia.
The United States and the majority of European Union nations will not attend the Kremlin ceremony for Vladimir Putin's inauguration for another six-year presidential term on May 7.
Representatives of Czechia and Estonia will not be in attendance for Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming presidential inauguration, the foreign ministers of the respective countries confirmed on May 5.
The European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's March presidential election as illegitimate, Ukrinform reported on April 25.
The March 15-17 presidential election was the most rigged in Russia's modern history, according to evidence published by election experts, observers, and media. Estimates of vote rigging range from at least 22 million votes to about 31.6 million votes, without taking into account the online voting and the election
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Vladimir Putin on his presidential election win in a letter lauding their countries’ cooperation “based on mutual respect.”
The media has been filled with coverage of the Russian presidential election that took place this weekend. Incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted 87% of the vote – a number that hardly came as a surprise amid widespread criticism that the election was neither free nor fair. Even before the election
Russian President Vladimir Putin easily cruised to victory in an election ruled neither free nor fair, solidifying his grip on power for another six years. Russia's Central Election Commission awarded Putin with 87.2% of the vote in an election that was widely seen as tightly controlled and without the
There was “nothing free or fair” about Vladimir Putin’s presidential election victory, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on March 18, highlighting the extreme lengths the Kremlin went to to get the result it needed.
Putin took the stage in the company of his "rivals," Kremlin-friendly lawmakers Vladislav Davankov, Nikolai Kharitonov, and Leonid Slutsky, who ran against Putin in the election. All three praised Putin and offered their support.
The results of Russia's election in occupied territories of Ukraine are "null and void," and the election organizers "will face consequences of these illegal actions," Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, said in a statement on behalf of EU member states on March 18.
"(I) look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
At the same time, Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence said that mobilization has continued in Russia throughout the campaign and election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received congratulatory remarks from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and a few other leaders of Russia-friendly countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would not be "intimidated" and thanked his supporters for delivering him another term in office after having secured 87.2% of the vote.
"He is afraid of only one thing – justice,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "(Putin) must end up in The Hague. That is what we must ensure, everyone in the world who values life and integrity."
Russian authorities on March 15-17 held a presidential election in two countries – Russia and the regions of Ukraine brutally occupied by the Kremlin. The voting was neither free nor fair, with the result known in advance. In the occupied areas, voting was held illegally at gunpoint. In Russia, the elections
Russia's presidential election entered its third and last day on March 17, with the state-controlled news agency Interfax reporting over 70% voter turnout as of 3 p.m. local time in Moscow.
At least 15 criminal cases on alleged "obstruction of the electoral comissions' work" had been opened during the first day of the Russian presidential election, Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on March 15, citing regional investigation committees.
"Russia has no legitimate basis to hold elections on the sovereign Ukrainian territory of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. These areas are a part of Ukraine," the U.K. Foreign Office said on X.
The explosion reportedly occurred at 3 p.m. local time on the central square near the polling station while Russian forces were patrolling nearby.
The governor of Russia's Samara Oblast reported on March 16 that two Rosneft oil refineries in the area were targeted by Ukrainian drones, resulting in no casualties but leaving one facility on fire.
For global audiences watching Moscow’s tightly-choreographed “election-style event” this weekend, Russia appears to be a country transformed – a militarized society where dissent is simply no longer tolerated. But the truth is that in the two years since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, for the majority, life
A source in the military intelligence agency confirmed to the Kyiv Independent it was currently making attempts to disrupt the vote, adding: "There are no elections or democracy there anyway."
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, mocked Vladimir Putin on the first day of the Russian pseudo-democratic presidential elections that are expected to grant him six more years in power.
Putin claimed the goal of the reported breakthrough was "to get a trump card for the exchange of territories in possible negotiations" and to create an "information effect."
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on March 7 that it had summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, and warned against "attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation," ahead of Russia's presidential election.
The Ukrainian resistance blew up an office of the United Russia party in the occupied Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka, the National Resistance Center said on Feb. 27.
Editor's note: This investigation, based on leaks obtained by Delfi Estonia and compiled for a joint investigation with VSquare and Frontstory.pl, Expressen, Meduza and iStories, Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel and ZDF, Der Standard, and Tamedia publications, has been republished by the Kyiv Independent with VSquare's permission. “I will
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