This is the first in a series of statements on the course of the election campaign. It covers the period from August 30, 2011 through October 25, 2011.

The Duma election campaign in 2011 differs from the 2007 election only in the level of administrative arrogance.

The geography of reported violations already covers the whole territory of Russia — from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.

On the 4th of December 2011 the parliamentary elections will take place, the presidential elections are to be held on 4th March 2012. Due to a constitutional amendment in 2008, the presidential term increased from four to six years, and the State Duma’s term from four to five years. In line with this new legislation the upcoming elections will be probably the last regular, national elections in Russia until 2016.

Election monitoring group says Chairman’s misleading comments about OSCE observers raises concerns about election oversight

In Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Region, numerous instances of pressure on independent candidates running for City Council have been reported.

In early October in Rostov-on-Don, rumors began to spread about mysterious social surveys by phone calls.

In Lipetsk on September 29th, a roundtable was held on the topic of the 2011 Elections.

October 6th from 15:00–16:00 the Association of NGOS will organize a press conference, and will extend invitations to the representatives from political parties, the media, and the REC of the Kaluga Region.

Earlier this week, strange leaflets began appearing on the streets of Kaliningrad.

“The opposition has agreed on the mobilizing in the streets”, said the coordinator of the Left Front, Sergei Udaltsov.

Journalists, activists, students and volunteers from GOLOS met on September 30th in the Human Rights House in Voronezh to talk about free speech and free elections.

A breach in electoral law has been reported in Ivanovo.

United Russia, which signed the agreement “For Fair Elections” failed to collect a complete set of signatures from candidates of parties in the Vladimir region. For various reasons, only three of seven necessary signatures from representatives of electoral associations were present.

Campaigning for the State Duma and the local parliament has only just begun, and already violations of electoral law have occurred.

GOLOS has returned to the institution of city management to convince the public that it is harmful.

An international scientific conference called “Civic Education. Civic Action. Civil Choice” has been dedicated to the 20th anniversary of civic education in the Tomsk Region.

On September 29th in Irkutsk Oblast a seminar organized by the Electoral Commission of the Irkutsk Region on the upcoming State Duma election was held. It was attended by the Chairman of the Regional Election Commission, Viktor Ignatenko and officials from local governments.