On March 15^th-17^th, 2024, an electoral event took place in Russia, which the current regime tried to present to the Russian people and the global community as "elections." In reality, we witnessed just another criminal act by the Putin’s regime, which we qualify as a usurpation of power.

During its existence, the Putinism has committed numerous crimes against the citizens of Russia and other states, including the elimination of basic rights and freedoms of Russian citizens, the destruction of constitutional power institutions, the banning of activities of national, republican, and regional parties, the unleashing of bloody wars against the peoples of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Georgia, Ukraine, and other countries, systematically eradicating the identity, culture, languages, and self-government of the peoples inhabiting the territory of the Russian Federation. Since 2014, the Putin regime has conducted criminal "referendums" and "elections" in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

The electoral event on March 15^th-17^th, 2024, constitutes a gross violation of international electoral standards. The de-facto ban to nominate opposition candidates, the impossibility to participate in election campaigns, cruel oppression of activists and civil society organizations, and the destruction of the independent observer institutions make the so-called "elections" a cynical imitation of the democratic process.

The organization and conduct of the electoral event by the Putin regime, campaigning for it, as well as active participation in it, we consider criminal. Voting in these pseudo-elections is essentially complicity in this crime, aiding Putinism in its claims that the "voting" reflects the will of the majority.

The Congress of People's Deputies and the League of Free Nations call on governments, parliaments, and international organizations not to be deceived by the Kremlin, to impose sanctions against the organizers and participants of the "elections," to work towards dismantling the imperial center and ensuring the right to vote for all citizens residing in the Russian Federation, and providing all peoples with the opportunity for self-determination.

We appeal to the parliaments and governments of the world to follow our example – not to recognize Putin as the President of the Russian Federation, not to recognize the State Duma as a parliament, to acknowledge the Putin regime and all its institutions as illegitimate, and to consider Putin as a usurper of power and a self-proclaimed dictator.