Published on: 2026-08-26
Source: Official website of the State –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
How can public consensus be maintained during election campaigns and the use of national and religious issues for inciting tension be prevented? These topics were discussed by experts, human rights defenders, and representatives of public organizations at a meeting in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.
The ethnoconfessional factor of security and legitimacy of the electoral process became the focus of the participants. Representatives from all subjects of Russia, traditional religious organizations, national-cultural associations, and other civil society institutions joined the discussion. Some experts participated in the meeting via video link.
The State University of Management was represented by Professor Vladimir Volokh — a member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation on Interethnic Relations and the Public Council at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. He delivered a report dedicated to the role of public institutions in ensuring stability during the election period.
Public oversight and dialogue
Opening the meeting, co-chairman of the Coordination Council under the RF Public Chamber for public control over voting, executive director of the Association “Independent Public Monitoring” Alexey Peskov noted the need to unite the efforts of human rights defenders, election organizers, religious organizations, and national-cultural associations.
Participants analyzed possible risks ahead of election campaigns and discussed which mechanisms could help prevent tensions in multinational and multiconfessional regions.
In his speech, Vladimir Volokh paid special attention to public oversight and preventive work at the grassroots level. According to him, one of the key tasks of civil society institutions is to prevent the use of citizens’ national and religious feelings to undermine trust in the electoral process.
“The main task of key civil society institutions — traditional religious organizations and national-cultural associations — is to prevent external destructive forces from using citizens’ national and religious feelings to undermine trust in elections and provoke tension in society.“, — emphasized the professor of the University of Management.
Vladimir Volokh also called for more active use of public oversight mechanisms in the regions, conducting explanatory work, and promptly responding to possible attempts at destabilization. During the meeting, he presented a number of specific proposals to improve this work.
Diversity as a resource
A separate topic of discussion was the ethnoreligious diversity of Russia.
Experts agreed that it is not a source of risk by itself. On the contrary, a structured dialogue between the state, public associations, religious organizations, and citizens can turn diversity into an additional resource for social consolidation.
The Chairman of the RF Public Chamber Commission on Interethnic, Interreligious Relations and Migration, Vladimir Zorin, emphasized the importance of societal unity and traditional spiritual and moral values for the internal stability of the country.
The Chairman of the NOM Association, Alexander Brod, reported that during the 2026 election campaign, no high-profile incidents related to incitement of interethnic hatred have been recorded so far.
Member of the Central Election Commission of Russia Igor Borisov, in turn, spoke about the modern challenges for the electoral process and emphasized the importance of election transparency, the work of public observers, and the interaction between the federal and regional public chambers.
Representatives of MGIMO of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HSE University, regional public chambers, and the expert community also participated in the discussion. The overall conclusion of the meeting was the need for systematic preventive work: the resilience of the electoral process largely depends not only on legislation and the work of state institutions but also on trust, public dialogue, and the willingness of various communities to interact with each other.
The full recording of the session is available on the VK Video platform.
Subscribe to the Telegram channel “Our GUU” Publication date: 26.08.2026
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.