Golos, Russia's main independent election monitoring and voters' rights organization, has announced it will cease operations after 25 years of activity. The decision follows the sentencing of its co-chair, Grigory Melkonyants, to five years in prison on charges related to organizing the activities of an "undesirable" organization. Golos played a prominent role in monitoring elections, including the fraudulent 2011-2012 Duma elections that led to the Bolotnaya protests. The closure marks the end of a significant independent voice in Russian election oversight amid increasing government restrictions and criminal prosecutions of its members.