EU, we have no illusions about the outcome of the Russian elections - last minute. This was said by Peter Stano, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs of the European Commission, commenting on the exclusion of the pacifist candidate Boris Nadezhdin from the race.
“It illustrates very well the atmosphere in Russia at the moment, the election campaign takes place in a highly controlled environment where independent voices, both from the media and the opposition, are constantly being 'paved over',” he added.