According to the European observers who were present in Russia in the last few days, on the other hand, the press "proved to be more dynamic" with respect to TV, and "there were examples of balanced political coverage in several newspapers. However, newspapers, and in particular the most independent, did not reach a large public". Among the underlined problems, there was also the confirmation that "the 7% threshold and the prohibition for political parties to make up electoral blocks" actually limited "the creation of new political parties, and thus, the possibility for a more pluralistic parliamentary representation". There were also several cases of arrest, including the one of the former chess world champion, Gary Kasparov, among the opposers. "The pre-electoral campaign was marked by the repressive measures by authorities against demonstrators and members of the opposition, during protest demonstrations added the observers. Harassment towards opposition candidates was reported, as well as detention, confiscation of electoral material, threats against electors". Several NGOs "met obstacles in carrying out their actions, and several NGOs reported not to have had access to polling stations on the voting day".
