[20][22][23] The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also said that it would not send observers for the first time since 1993 due to "major limitations" imposed by Russian authorities.

[24] Following the election, United Russia maintained its constitutional majority despite some losses, taking 324 seats, while it received 49.82% of the vote, according to official results.

In June 2018, after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced a reform to raise the retirement age, the rating of ruling party United Russia fell sharply and since then has fluctuated from around 35% to 25% sparking the 2018 Russian pension protests during summer.

During his 2020 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly on 15 January, President Vladimir Putin proposed a referendum to be held on the number of amendments arguing that a national vote would be necessary to make the changes to the Constitution of Russia "legitimate".

Some political scientists and MPs also have said that the dissolution of the State Duma and holding of a snap election is likely;[38][39][40] however, this opinion is not shared by Andrey Klishas, head of the Legal Committee of the Federation Council, who is part of the working group on preparing amendments to the constitution.

At first, the proposal was supported by a majority of deputies; however, because there was no consensus on this issue, with the CPRF in particular against it, President Putin urged not to dissolve the State Duma, and Karelin then withdrew the amendment.

United Russia supported Tereshkova's proposal, and in Putin's response, "I believe and am deeply convinced that a strong presidential power is absolutely necessary for our country [and] for stability", citing examples of countries without presidential term limits and referencing former United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served four consecutive terms.

[47] The 2020 constitutional referendum was held from 25 June to 1 July; 78% of Russian voters approved on the new amendments including extension of Putin's term to 2036.

In particular, Sergey Mironov, the leader of JR, assumed that early elections could be held, referring to the desire of the country's senior leadership.

In addition, the polling stations themselves can be organized outside the premises, but this decision is not mandatory and may be made by the CEC within ten days after the election is scheduled.

[54][55] A number of opposition candidates were barred from running in the elections,[21] including allies of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other candidates affiliated with him following the designation of his networks, including the Anti-Corruption Foundation, as "extremist" earlier in the year,[21] effectively banning anyone associated with Navalny or his groups from running for office.

[56] Navalny allies barred from running include Lyubov Sobol, Ilya Yashin, Oleg Stepanov, Irina Fatyanova, and Alexandra Semenova.

[56][58][59] Yabloko party candidates who were barred from the legislative elections included Yulia Galyamina, Lev Schlossberg, Viktor Rau, Natalia Rezontova, Yelena Izotova, Ruslan Zinatullin, and Anatoly Nogovitsin.

Six Party of Growth candidates (Rafail Gibadullin, Magomed Magomedaliev, Elena Motova, Evgenia Orlova, Alexei Uryvaev, and Zaur Shakhbanov) were eliminated in a single court ruling over alleged foreign funding.

[66] Navalny ally Ivan Zhdanov called the decision "illegal" and also said: "It's naive to think that some company can register a trademark in a month, and then quickly file a lawsuit in the Moscow court and immediately get interim measures".

[64] On 6 September, access to the Smart Voting website in Russia was cut off, with Volkov stating that authorities had used a TSPU (technical tools to counter threats) system as part of the Sovereign Internet Law.

The previous week, Roskomnadzor warned Apple and Google that it could face fines if the Smart Voting mobile app was not removed from their stores.

[63] On 15 September, Roskomnadzor reportedly began temporarily blocking Google Docs after the lists of Smart Voting endorsements had been released, later restoring access to the service by the next day.

[71] According to Agence France-Presse, the decision was made after significant pressure from authorities which included threats of criminal charges and arrest of staff in Russia.

[78][79][80][81] Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev described the military and police payments as a means to ensure the loyalty of the security forces that the government would rely upon to disperse protests.

[130] In addition to Titov, nine people became co-chairs: musician Sergey Shnurov, actor Nikolai Fomenko, former Minister of Labor and MP Oksana Dmitriyeva, former MP Sergey Stankevich, economist Yevgeny Kogan, journalist Alexander Lyubimov, businessman Ilya Sachkov, social entrepreneur Ksenia Bezuglova, and human rights activist Alexander Huruji.

The convention identified priorities and key areas of work that should allow the party to maintain its position as the leading political force in Russia and win the 2021 election.

[135] According to the party's General Council Secretary Andrey Turchak, United Russia would fight to preserve its constitutional majority, and intends to win at least 301 seats.

At the congress, President Vladimir Putin proposed the following five individuals for the party's federal list for the elections, among them Sergei Shoigu (Defence Minister), Sergey Lavrov (Foreign Minister), Denis Protsenko (head doctor of Russia's main coronavirus hospital), Yelena Shmelyova (co-chair of the All-Russia People's Front), and Anna Kuznetsova (Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation).

[149][150] In an early August interview with TV Rain, Grigory Yavlinsky denounced "Navalny's Politics" and his Smart Voting strategy.

According to party leader Sergey Mironov, he will carry out general management of the campaign, and the head of the election headquarters will be MP Valery Gartung.

[16][175] In some regions, episodes of carousel voting (groups of voters casting multiple ballots at different polling stations) were reported.

[190] A remote voting procedure takes from 5 to 10 minutes, because voter's ID must be verified and due to some paperwork, and some extra time is needed for reaching the next location.

The one includes "doppelganger candidates",[citation needed] where a person of similar look and surname was put on the same ballot in order to confuse voters.

[19][201] Nikolai Bondarenko, Saratov City Duma MP from the CPRF, vocal critic of the ruling party, and YouTube blogger, stated that the outcome was simply "rewritten" to the benefit of the candidate of the United Russia he ran against.