Our window to Russia: What comes after the elections in Russia?

Russia voted in September. Vladimir Putin's ruling party “United Russia” has won the election again. That wasn't a surprise to anyone. But what interests us most is: What comes next? What do these elections mean for Russia – and what developments can we expect now?

Maxim Kurnikov, editor-in-chief of Radio Echo, a critical Russian-language exile media based in Berlin, talks about this. The host of the “Free Speech” podcast is Tigran Petrosyan.

According to Kurnikov, after the elections there could be a further tightening of the regime, an increase in repression and an escalation of the war.

Donations to the taz panter foundation provide financial support for independent and critical journalists. The taz panter foundation promotes young talent, international exchange and moral courage.

At the same time, Russia is currently in a very difficult economic situation, explains Kurnikov. The Russian state must collect more and more money from its own citizens in order to finance its military spending.

"So the costs of housing, heating and electricity are increasing significantly. And do you know what date these increases were set for? October 1. That means: first the elections will take place, and after that people will be faced with tariffs that are sometimes almost one and a half or even twice as high as before," says Kurnikov.

The fear of possible mobilization also concerns many people. According to Kurnikov's observations and the research of his editorial team, there is a new wave of people leaving Russia and traveling to countries for which they do not need a visa - that is, to places where they do not need a Schengen visa: to Armenia, Serbia or Georgia.

This new wave of departures differs significantly from previous ones, reports Kurnikov: "We see that the people in this new wave of departures are significantly less wealthy than those who left in 2022 and 2023. Very often these are very young people who have little experience of a free, independent life. Their parents send them away. They are 18 or 19 years old. The parents are afraid that their children will simply be drafted into the army and have no future."

Kurnikov, who lives in Berlin himself, also tells the story of Radio Echo and Echo Moskvy and explains why he believes Berlin is now the most important city in the world for Russian journalism.

He also draws a parallel to emigration from the Soviet Union: "If we compare our situation with emigration from the Soviet Union, we are in a much more privileged position. We are constantly in contact with people who are within Russia."

Finally, it's about the work of the Echo publishing house. Kurnikov presents books that the publisher publishes and that, in his opinion, could even be important for the current negotiations.

Eastern Europe is one of the focal points of the taz panter foundation, which looks to places where access to information is becoming increasingly difficult - Russia and Belarus are among them. On the last day of the month, a new podcast episode of “Our window to, among other things, Russia/Belarus” appears in the taz panterstiftung’s “Free Speech” podcast format.