How Russia Forcibly Imposes "Elections" on Occupied Ukrainian Lands

Russia creates an artificial image of democratic processes in occupied Ukrainian territories by holding pseudo-elections in violation of all norms of international law. We spoke with an activist from the Ukrainian resistance movement "Yellow Ribbon" and the spokesperson of the National Resistance Center (the names have been changed due to security concerns) to learn how Russia was running elections without choice in occupied Ukrainian territory.

“Russia's aim is to show to their eternal audience that there is an integration of “new” territories. It is, in fact, a signal to Russians and the rest of the world. When world leaders speak of negotiating with Russia, these elections are a slap in the face to the rest of the world and a signal that Russia isn't going to stop." - Spokesperson of the National Resistance Center told us.

One of the strategies used in occupied Ukrainian territory is to portray an artificial image of Russian support. Moreover, in order to legitimise further Russian war crimes and strengthen the narrative about the renewal of Ukrainian territories following their occupation, the occupation government, in collaboration with Russian officials and military, creates an image of political activity and support for the occupation. As a result, Russian pseudo-elections were held in occupied Ukrainian territory from September 8 to September 10, 2023.

The Russian government has been preparing for them since May 2023, when it passed amendments that allowed elections to be held during martial law "after consulting Russia's Ministry of Defence and Federal Security Service." It was created to formally legitimise any future pseudo-elections in occupied Ukrainian territories. Simultaneously, in July 2023, the Head of Russia's Central Electoral Commission reported on election preparations in occupied territories.

According to an activist with the civil resistance movement "Yellow Ribbon" against Russian occupation, despite established dates, the occupational administrations began the election process much earlier - on September 1, 2023. In addition to polling stations, special mobile groups of workers from occupational polling stations were formed. They traveled to remote settlements or went directly to people's homes, armed with military personnel, forcing them to vote, otherwise they would be arrested, lose their job, or be torture. This information was also approved by the National Resistance Center.

“These mobile groups consisted of the Russian military. Secondly, there were so-called ‘volunteers’ who were purposefully relocated from Russia for elections. Finally, there were some local collaborators who were doing this work for money," says the National Resistance Center's Spokesperson.

"The occupational government prioritises the use of these mobile groups." They invade villages and homes. They can also conduct a search, seize personal belongings, and then pass their stolen belongings to someone else as 'humanitarian aid,'" explains a "Yellow Ribbon" activist.

It is worth noting that the election date was chosen symbolically – in accordance with the Russian "Unified Voting Day." Election parties were also Russian: urban areas became packed with Russian political agitation, and Russians were among the candidates. As the mayor of Melitopol stated during a press conference on the situation in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, 28 of the 60 candidates in Melitopol from the Russian party "United Russia" were residents of Russian regions. According to the National Resistance Center review, among the candidates were either Russians or people who had been involved in occupational administrations. All of them, however, were approved by Russian political party offices.

In comparison to pseudo-referendums in 2022, Russian propagandists put more efforts on legitimising elections. The difference is in disseminating the narrative that all messages about forcing people to vote are "Ukrainian disinformation." Moreover, the pseudo-elections involved so-called "independent observers" from foreign countries - all of whom supported Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and have connections with Russian cultural, scientific, or civil society organisations.

Another distinction is the growing number of Russian citizens who have been relocated to occupied Ukrainian territories in the last year. Their presence and participation in elections as "local people" were also used to bolster the narrative about Russian election support.

“During this year, they relocated many Russians to occupied [Ukrainian] territories. It dilutes the ethnic structure of the territory and makes them a good statistic on population, economic, social growth and the general support for Russia.” explains the activist.

Representatives of occupational authorities put people under psychological duress to get them to vote. There have also been reports of raids, arrests, and confiscation of personal belongings for the "needs of electoral commissions."

However, in spite of all the pressure, many people continue to resist. Firstly, people try to avoid any contact with Russians and simply ignore the election process, despite the fact that occupational administrations do everything possible to prevent that being the case.

“Our non-violent resistance gave the results - to show that it is Ukrainian land and these are Ukrainian people. It happened during pseudo-referendums in 2022. It happened during pseudo-elections: people simply didn't open doors," says the National Resistance Center's Spokesperson.

Second, Ukrainians in occupied territories fought pseudo-elections by disseminating pro-Ukrainian leaflets, undermining Russian political agitation, painting Ukrainian symbols, and calling for elections to be ignored on the streets.

"We were playing the recording 'Ukrainians, disregard participation in pseudo-elections!' One of the loudspeakers was near the polling station in Makiivka [Donetsk region]. Another one at a bus stop in Luhansk. You should have seen the expressions on people's faces when there was a line near the stop and an elderly woman standing on the car with a chair and a box labelled ‘Elections.’ Of course, it frightens them," the activist continued.

To summarise, Russian pseudo-elections in occupied Ukrainian territories violate international law and are entirely illegitimate. Despite Russian propaganda efforts to portray public support for Russia and active participation in this process, the reality is quite the opposite. People are compelled to vote under threat of torture, arrest, or confiscation of personal belongings. Russian pseudo-elections are merely an imitation of democratic processes in occupied Ukrainian territories.