Why the Kremlin fears even the ‘managed opposition’ in Russia

In the weeks leading up to the Duma elections, the Kremlin accelerated what is known in the country as “ballot sterilisation”. It removed the remaining risk factors that could demonstrate any form of public dissatisfaction.

Candidates of the so-called managed opposition parties, such as the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), have been arrested or barred from running, thus diminish...