Residents of Stavropol doubted the opposition mood of their fellow countrymen.

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE FOREIGN AGENT LLC "MEMO", OR RELATES TO THE ACTIVITIES OF THE FOREIGN AGENT LLC "MEMO".

Residents of Stavropol who participated in the elections for deputies of the State Duma of Russia doubted the strong protest sentiments of their fellow countrymen. They went to the elections but do not particularly believe in their results.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 19, the "Yabloko" party reported that observers at polling station No. 109 in the Stavropol region were prohibited from moving around the premises, and from their designated spot, part of the ballot boxes and booths were not visible.

On September 20, residents of Stavropol interviewed by a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" explained why they still decided to go to the elections and what they expect in the future. The survey is not representative and reflects only the private opinions of the respondents.

The ecologist Andrey voted on the very first day of the elections. He believes that the current elections in the Stavropol region are much more advanced than before. "At the same time, the falsifications are now the same everywhere," he added.

In Stavropol, people do not demonstrate such protest sentiments, they try not to demonstrate.

He believes that overall, despite the significant restraint of the population in Stavropol, there is a possibility of protest voting. "As one acquaintance told me a few days ago, I can't stand the 'New People' party, but I will vote for them, just because. But in general, in Stavropol, people do not demonstrate such protest sentiments, they try not to demonstrate. They are a bit more restrained. But the trouble is that there is no real observation at the elections now, and they will 'draw' the necessary results. To a greater extent. Not like before," Andrey said.

As an example, he cited the gubernatorial elections in the region in 2019. "Then in the Predgorny district, where there were normal observations, an alternative candidate won, the candidate from the Communist Party won, while in all other areas he lost. Now it is hard to imagine, the falsifications are huge and only increasing," Andrey explained.

I went to the elections. But overall, I don't believe in all this.

The lawyer Narine took her chance to go to the elections at the last moment, just before the polling station closed. "I went to the elections. But overall, I don't believe in all this. There were many people at the polling station, mostly staff. Observers were sitting, bored. There were about five voters like me. It was late. But nothing unusual happened," she said.

Narine found it difficult to say whether people go to vote for any protest reasons. "Many did not go due to being busy with work. In our region, there are not particularly any protest sentiments. But overall, in my circle, the mood of the people is that everything has been decided without us," she said.

Still, I believe that this is an important political ritual and it should not be postponed until the last moment.

The Stavropol political scientist, who provided comments on the condition of anonymity, reported that he came to vote with his family at the polling station right on the morning of the 18th. "Therefore, our names appeared first in the voter list - the sheets were empty. Honestly, it is difficult to say how the flow of voters changed later. But on Sunday, passing by the polling station, I saw that a Cossack ensemble was performing there. Apparently, this is how they attract people. But I definitely did not notice any queues at the entrance. I came early and brought my family because I still believe that this is an important political ritual and it should not be postponed until the last moment," he said.

He believes that there are no objective studies confirming or refuting the possibility of protest voting among the residents of Stavropol. "I did not work in the field in the region this year, so both versions can be equally valid," he concluded.

No reports of violations during the voting in Stavropol had been received by 00:00 Moscow time on September 21, according to data on the website of the project "Observing Together". The project is positioned as an "independent platform for monitoring the elections of 2026." "We publish data on electoral commissions and violations," the annotation states. Information is transmitted to the project authors by users via Telegram using a bot. "Caucasian Knot" considers it needs confirmation and does not regard information from users as reports of factual violations. "Caucasian Knot" has collected materials on the elections on the thematic page "Elections-2026: where will the protest go?"

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