The police warned Volgograd activists against actions during the elections.

In Volgograd, the police warned civil activists about the inadmissibility of actions during the elections. At some polling stations in the regional center today, there were queues of budget employees.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of the Volgograd region are dissatisfied with the fuel shortage, air alerts, and housing and utilities problems, but do not see the upcoming elections as an opportunity to influence the situation and do not see the point in participating in the voting.

A correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" today asked residents of the Volgograd region about their attitude towards voting. The material is not a public opinion poll, does not claim to be representative, and is not intended to determine the political preferences of voters, intentions to vote for specific candidates, or to predict election results.

Activist Vladimir Telpuk reported that he plans to vote on September 20. He did not explain the reason for this decision but noted that "everyone who is ready to protest" received warnings from the Volgograd police about the ban on actions.

"The district officer called me, wanted to meet and give a warning. I did not meet with him. And people... I think they go to the elections out of habit," said Vladimir Telpuk.

The district officer also brought a warning to the apartment of politician Ilya Kravchenko*. He was away at the time, and the document was handed to his parents. "I will go vote at 12:00 Moscow time on September 20," Ilya reported.

Volgograd lawyer Vladimir Kruglyakov expressed doubts that voting in the elections in Russia has practical meaning. All parties on the federal list, according to the lawyer, are united in their position, and a spoiled ballot due to the absence of a "Against all candidates" option is statistically indistinguishable from one spoiled by mistake.

"Therefore, the vast majority of my friends and I do not consider voting in these elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation as a form of protest. Accordingly, we do not plan to participate," Vladimir admitted.

Activist Tamara Grodnikova also doubted that elections in Russia give citizens the opportunity to express disagreement or protest.

"For several decades, Russians have been observing the same thing, no matter what they do. Whether they come to the elections or not, whether they vote or not, whether they vote for this candidate or that one, tear the ballot or spoil it – one party wins the elections time and again with approximately the same indicators," Grodnikova stated.

According to the Volgograd activist, other parties and independent candidates have a "ridiculously insignificant number of votes." "It would be nice if our excessive and constant lead of the same party led to a thorough analysis of the political situation and was seen as a sign of serious malfunctions in the system," Grodnikova noted.

Tamara admitted that she did not go to vote today, simply forgetting about the elections. However, she does not plan to vote in the next two days either. "It's not about the dacha or a picnic; I have an aversion to elections. Not only because in previous 'seasons' my visits and conscientious voting led to nothing, but also because there has long been no effective interaction between citizens and deputies in the period between elections," Tamara said.

At the same time, Grodnikova believes that voter turnout in the Volgograd region "will be decent" – "due to strict control of budget employees." She has not discussed the upcoming elections with anyone: Tamara calls them "strange," as in her opinion, "civil activity in the country is practically frozen."

"There is a widespread opinion that Russian society is extremely atomized. Indeed, I notice a lot of hidden aggression in society. Periodically, people 'lose it' and direct their irritation at each other. But we lack cooperation and solidarity. In a healthy society, everything is the opposite. However, if retaining power is the only and main goal for the political elite, then a healthy democratic society poses a serious threat to it," the activist said.

Situation at the polling stations

Students Elena Gavrilova and Anastasia Ivanova reported that they voted today at their registered address.

"There were a lot of people at the polling station today. We, students, for example, were released from classes for the whole day, just like schoolchildren. Budget employees were queuing at the station. As I understood from their conversations, they were sent to the elections by their superiors. And it seems that this superiors were also standing there and controlling the process," said 22-year-old Elena.

The girl added that there is no open protest in the student environment of their university. In the corridors, students discuss the situation in the country, criticize the government, "but no one makes statements openly."

"These elections seem to be no different from the previous ones. A boring election campaign, faceless candidates, toothless election slogans," noted 22-year-old Anastasia.

In the yard of the school where the polling station was located, the voting Volgograd residents did not gather in groups and did not discuss anything. "There were about 10 people in line for ballots, only one pensioner scolded the Volgograd authorities for not being able to resolve the fuel crisis, for the rising prices in stores. But no one argued with him. Everyone just nodded silently, agreeing," said Anastasia.

30-year-old resident of Volzhsky Nikolai Zuev reported that he and his relatives voted today in the afternoon. At the polling station where he voted, "bravura songs" traditionally sounded from the speakers. There was no queue for ballots. Groups of people stood in the school yard discussing problems at gas stations.

"The main topic of conversation is the gasoline shortage. It seems that today the situation has improved, there is gasoline at gas stations, and the queues are small. But almost everyone is sure that after the elections, gasoline will disappear from the gas stations again, so we need to fill our tanks to the brim now," Zuev said.

Nikolai noted that he and his relatives came to vote today to "free up the weekend for the dacha." "Many residents of Volzhsky did the same. Now we need to prepare the dachas for winter. I plan to dig up the garden and collect late apples. I need to water the fruit trees before winter, patch up the cellar. My colleagues are going fishing in the floodplain. So we are freeing up the weekend for ourselves. And we give the authorities Friday," Zuev admitted.

Resident of the village of Trikhostrovskaya in the Ilovlya district of the Volgograd region Elena did not notice any excitement or queues at the polling station in the rural house of culture. "I do not intend to vote at all. I work all three days and do not want to allocate my free time to go to the polling station. They will do it as they need without me," the woman is sure.

Elena believes that the situation in the country has little impact on her family. "All food products are in our garden and in the barn, and we do not need gasoline for now, the car is in repair, we travel by public transport. Many live like this in the stanitsa," she said.

Resident of the district center Ilovlya Zhanna Kurilkova reported that the elections in the district are taking place "without incidents": she did not see queues at the polling stations, and people are discussing two problems: the fuel crisis and the rising prices of food and medicines.

"My husband and I will go vote on September 20, it is more convenient for us that way. Today and on Saturday, there is a lot of work. We did not follow the debates, know nothing about the candidates, and have no faith in the new State Duma. I have not yet decided whom I will give my vote to. There is emptiness in my soul and disappointment," Zhanna admitted.

Her husband, who asked not to be named, noted that young people in the district center are afraid of possible mobilization. "Everyone feels the tension: there is a fuel shortage, rising prices, and drones sometimes fly over our heads, and it is unclear what will happen with mobilization, as there are many guys who are currently free – not studying and not working anywhere," said the man.

* included in the Russian register of foreign agents.

** the activities of the Meta company (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.