RantCrush Top 5: September 6, 2016

In the latest in a series of attacks against the freedom of information and expression the Russian government has effectively shutdown the “Levada Centre.” The independent polling organization acted as a moderator during elections by collecting information from Russian voters. News organizations like Reuters and CNN often provide similar polls during U.S. elections which help inform the electorate as to how and why votes were cast. The Putin regime has, since its inception in 1999, aggressively clamped down on organizations critical of its actions. In the words of Mr. Gudkov, the Levada Centre’s leader, this incident is “typical behavior of this repressive regime.” With no independent agency to corroborate election results democracy is quickly fading into irrelevancy in Russia, if it was not already there.