The backing of the main party Vladimir Putin He is far ahead in parliamentary elections, early exit polls indicate today amid a torrent of accusations of vote rigging.
Russian Far East polls suggested pro-Kremlin United Russia it had between 40 and 45 percent of the vote with the Communists in second place with about 18 percent.
The ultranationalist Liberal Democrats they were pushing ten percent, while other parties struggled in single figures.
Another exit poll based on voting in Moscow and St. Petersburg suggested that United Russia had 44 percent and the opposition Communists 21 percent.
But shocking videos were revealed that allegedly showed an illegal manipulation in favor of the main pro-Putin party, which experts hope to obtain a clear majority.
In Vladivostok, a camera behind a plant showed an official apparently marking many previously blank ballots.
In Belovo, Kemerovo region, a figure hidden behind a woman dressed in yellow repeatedly puts ballots in a ballot box.
In the Bryansk region, two women are seen packing ballots in a ballot box, while laughter is heard from the voting station.
In Pyotr Dubrava, Samara region, at polling station 706, an election official is seen filling out papers before approaching to place them in a ballot box.
In Belovo, Kemerovo region, a figure hidden behind a yellow woman repeatedly places ballots in a voting box for me.
In Pyotr Dubrava, Samara region, at polling station 706, an election official is seen filling out papers before approaching to place them in a ballot box.
Most of the 'abuse' occurred in view of closed-circuit television cameras.
All of these cases are highlighted by opposition sites as evidence of manipulation in key parliamentary elections.
There were reports of voter bribes in TransBaikal, where one said he was offered 150 rubles (ยฃ 1.50) for his vote, as well as Yakutia and Novosibirsk.
Elsewhere, there were complaints from people driving around polling stations to vote multiple times.
At a polling station in Yakutia, about 30 percent of the ballots had not arrived, raising fears that they were filled out illegally and would add to the vote stacks in the counting.
In three regions, heads of local electoral commissions were fired during voting after "additional ballots were discovered" at polling stations, Central Electoral Commission director Ella Pamfilova said.
Chechen women dressed in Chechen national costumes leave a voting booth at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Grozny, Russia, on Sunday
A woman casts her vote in a polling station during the parliamentary elections at the Russian embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania
The regions were Bryansk, Kemerovo and the Republic of Adygea, he said.
"At the moment, eight cases of ballot fillers have been confirmed," he said.
But the moves were seen as a symbolic initiative that will likely not convince the opposition that the poll was fair.
Recent months have seen the banning or imprisonment of key enemies of Putin, and his parties, such as activist Alexei Navalny, now incarcerated.
Some have been labeled "extremists" or "foreign agents".
Despite this, Navalny repeatedly posted messages during the elections calling for a tactical vote against the pro-Putin candidates.
Popular messenger Telegram had removed Navalny's 'Smart Voting' bot, while the opposition claimed that Western web giants had been intimidated by the Kremlin by removing Google Docs and YouTube videos containing lists of recommended candidates.
However, several opposition parties hoped to win back the Kremlin slightly on key issues.
Putin has remained in self-isolation for the three days of voting after a reported Covid-19 outbreak in his entourage.
Turnout reached 40.49 percent as of 2:50 p.m. today, the last day of voting, officials said.
The impact of online voting, more available than in previous elections, was unclear.
An opposition activist reported: 'Total [ballot] the filling continues in St. Petersburg.
'Criminals are not ashamed of anything and shove packages (of votes) right under the observer's camera.
"They know perfectly well that they will not be punished, but will be promoted."
Huge lines of 'state employees', including soldiers, were seen at polling stations across the country amid claims that they had been ordered to vote in specific locations to influence the outcome.
In a week in which Russia has watched non-stop war games near its western borders, it seemed like the latest military exercise: Operation Get Out The Vote.
In St. Petersburg, a woman was arrested after carrying a bag to a polling place filled with more than 100 ballots.
