Although Mr Putin controls the courts, the security services and electoral committees,
Russia’s parliamentary elections in 2021 are likely to turn into a battlefield. Mr
Navalny’s tactic of consolidating protest votes against the United Russia party, the
vehicle through which Mr Putin exercises his power, could shatter the Kremlin’s
appearance of omnipotence. Even more important, Mr Navalny’s vision of Russia as a
modern nation state could prove to be more appealing than Mr Putin’s Soviet-style
imperial nationalism. A serious fight for the parliament that 30 years ago declared
Russia’s independence from the Soviet Union could make this an unexpectedly
significant anniversary year.
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