The paper compares the outcomes of the elections in Russia of 1999 among geographical areas with differential access to the only national independent TV channel.

The research concludes that access to this independent channel decreased the vote for the government party and increased the votes for the opposition parties, but also decreased turnout. The probability of voting for opposition parties increased for individuals who watched independent TV even controlling for voting intentions measured one month before elections.

Authors: Ruben Enikolopov, Maria Petrova, Ekaterina Zhuravskaya