| Description |
Russia's holds a complex relationship with democracy. Following the collapse of the USSR, Russia appeared on the forefront of a democratic renewal. Instead, in the time since, Russia has devolved into an authoritarian regime under the rule of Vladimir Putin. As a result, today, Russia has found means to flip foundational democratic tools such as elections into tools for authoritarian resilience. More specifically, in recent years, the emergence of online and blockchain voting in Russian elections has opened a new forefront for potential electoral coercion. Thus, this thesis explores the challenges, issues, and potential security risks of Russia's blockchain voting system. First, I review the foundational causes for Russia's democratic backsliding to provide context behind their transition into an authoritarian regime. Next, I review Russia's history electoral data between the periods of 2003-2013 to determine the history of deliberate electoral coercion. Then, I evaluative the foundations, mechanisms, and implementations of Russia's blockchain voting system. Finally, I review emerging data regarding potential security and coercion risks with Russian online voting. Ultimately, this finds concerning security and information gaps in Russia's blockchain voting system, and points to the potential of this tool being used for authoritarian resilience in the future. |
