Russia is holding a presidential election on March 17 that will be neither free nor fair.
Vladimir Putin, who has already been in power for over two decades, will be "reelected." Opposition candidates critical of Russia’s war in Ukraine have been barred from running.
While Russia will not see a change in leadership this year, what makes this election different is the fact that voting will be extended to four Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Moscow in 2022 — though Russian forces do not fully occupy these regions. Voting will also occur in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine says any Russian presidential election voting in occupied regions will be “null and void.”