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Independent Monitor Golos Shuts Down Amid Kremlin Crackdown

7/10/2025

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Summary

Story summary

After 25 years of championing electoral integrity, Russia's prominent independent monitoring group, Golos, has shut its doors. This decision comes on the heels of co-chair Grigory Melkonyants receiving a five-year prison sentence for supposed connections to an "undesirable" organization. Golos's closure signals a chilling escalation in the Kremlin's assault on dissent and independent oversight as elections loom.

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Story summary

After 25 years of championing electoral integrity, Russia's prominent independent monitoring group, Golos, has shut its doors. This decision comes on the heels of co-chair Grigory Melkonyants receiving a five-year prison sentence for supposed connections to an "undesirable" organization. Golos's closure signals a chilling escalation in the Kremlin's assault on dissent and independent oversight as elections loom.