The Kremlin and its loyalists have said they will maintain and in some cases intensify their tough approach to internal and external critics and organizations that they view as a threat to Russia's stability.
In the run-up to a parliamentary election won by a large margin by the ruling United Russia against a backdrop of fraud allegations, the authorities neutralized the party's critics outside parliament, using legal mechanisms to stop them from taking part in the ballot and targeting what they saw as hostile media and non-governmental organizations.
Allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is serving 2½ years in prison for parole violations he says are trumped up, had their homes raided, their freedom of movement restricted, or fled abroad after a court ruled their activities to be extremist in June.