Prices are up, polls are down, and Kremlin officials think propaganda can fix the problem before the parliamentary elections, Meduza sources say

With Russia’s parliamentary elections less than a year away, the Kremlin has begun fine-tuning its information strategy. According to sources in major online newsrooms, officials are instructing loyal media outlets to flood the news cycle with positive coverage of United Russia’s social initiatives — an effort to blunt the ruling party’s falling ratings as rising prices erode public support. Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev spoke with media employees and a political consultant for ...