Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of allegations of electoral fraud in Russian legislative elections; and whether she has made representations to her Russian counterpart in response to those allegations.

We are disappointed by the undue limitations that Russia has placed on election monitoring, a key element of democratic scrutiny. We are aware of a number of allegations made in relation to the conduct of the Duma elections. In addition, the measures taken by the Russian authorities to marginalise civil society, silence independent media, and exclude genuine opposition candidates from participating in the elections undermine political plurality, and are at odds with Russia's international commitments. We assess that the conduct of these elections represents a serious step back for democratic freedoms in Russia.