In the weeks leading up to the 2018 Russian elections, Tariq spoke with Ilya Matveev - a founding editor of openleft.ru, an online platform for socialist critique - about Putin, the opposition in Russia, and what will likely be one of the least surprising election results of the year.

Speaking to us over Skype from St Petersburg, Ilya’s sober account of the situation in Russia is one you’re unlikely to hear from any section of the mainstream media.