Jüri Kotšinev: Russian society is preparing for mobilization, could leaving Russia be banned?

People fear that Russia could completely close its borders to citizens after the elections. They also fear that the authorities could pressure people into signing military service contracts, military historian Jüri Kotšinev writes.

Elections for the ninth State Duma will take place across Russia from Sept. 10 to 20. The ballot includes United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, the Direct Democracy Party, the Greens, A Just Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Pensioners' Party, the Communist Party of Russia and New People.

Voting will take place in all 89 Russian regions. For the first time, the elections will also be held in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Three electoral districts have been formed in Donetsk, two in Luhansk, and one each in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.