The paper discusses electoral integrity and malpractice in Russia from the point of view of the people who make it happen: political strategists, CEOs, and government representatives. The original dataset, encompassing 75 in-depth interviews collected in selected Russian regions in 2018-19, suggests that a wide range of practices are employed to maintain the power of the ruling elite, from legal and ethical ones to morally gray and completely unethical ones. The techniques used have evolved with the general political situation in the country and can be clustered into five periods: 1991−1995, 1996−1999, 2000−2010, 2010−2017, and since 2018.