The Unseen Assembly: Russia’s Final Blackout on Parliamentary Transparency

For the photographers who have spent years in the press gallery, this ban is a professional exile. These individuals served as a vital, if silent, check on the behavior of lawmakers, their presence alone acting as a reminder that the world was watching. Without them, the atmosphere of the Duma is likely to shift further toward a private club of elites. The "long-focus lens" was a bridge between the voter and the representative; by breaking that bridge, the Kremlin has further insulated itself from the reality of the people it claims to serve, choosing the comfort of the shadows over the glare of the flash.