On local Election Day, 13 September, the “Open Elections” project, which trains election observers, carried out its first campaign in the Kostroma and Novosibirsk regions. Open Elections did not identify significant electoral violations in Berdsk, but encountered obstruction and falsifications in Kostroma.

More than 500 people were involved in the monitoring of the elections for local officials.

The Kostroma and Novosibirsk regions were the only areas in which Democratic Coalition candidates were able to gather signatures, and were permitted to take part in the elections. In these regions, Open Russia made the decision to launch the Open Elections project – the greater the political competition, the more important the need for independent and professional monitoring.

The preparation and training of observers lasted several months. On 13 September, 62 observers went to work in the local constituencies of Berdsk, whilst around 500 were operating in Kostroma.

The outcomes of the election campaigns in the two regions contrasted markedly. Whilst in Berdsk no significant violations were discovered, in Kostroma the government actually used force to disrupt the work of the Open Elections centre.

“The elections themselves in Berdsk passed in an almost exemplary fashion, which can almost never be said about election campaigns. All kinds of dirty tricks, however, were put into action during canvassing – false newspapers and flyers, rumours and provocations. Despite all this, the candidate from the Democratic Coalition, Egor Savin, succeeded in winning 20% of votes,” stated Vitaly Shushkevich, the coordinator of Open Elections in Berdsk.

Things turned out completely differently in Kostroma. The number of violations surpassed critical levels, and the work of the Open Elections headquarters was disrupted by local law enforcement agencies. Members of the Open Elections team were barricaded inside their building for several hours, and then detained after the door was broken down and a search was carried out. Personal effects were confiscated from observers and human rights activists had money stolen, which was earmarked for paying the bail of Andrei Pivovarov, currently being held in prison on trumped up, politically-motivated charges.

A live stream of events was broadcast throughout the day on the Open Russia website.

Despite the government’s illegal actions, the majority of reports from voting constituencies were processed. In the near future, Open Elections will present a full report on its monitoring activities.

As a result of the campaign, Open Elections will adjust and improve their strategy for the 2015 election cycle.

“We are under no illusions; we understand perfectly that the pressure on independent election observers will only increase. The government is preparing to resist not only opposition candidates, but any civil society initiative working to make elections more transparent. We are preparing ourselves. Open Elections has made important conclusions. We will take into account the experience, which we have acquired, in order to make our monitoring more effective as we move towards the state Duma elections,” Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., stated the coordinator of Open Russia in the Russian Federation.