2020 Rio Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2020 Rio Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2020 Rio Open – Doubles
Máximo González and Nicolás Jarry were the defending champions, but Jarry could not compete due to a provisional suspension. González played alongside Fabrice Martin but lost in the quarterfinals to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.


2020 Rio Open – Doubles
Granollers and Zeballos went on to win the title, defeating Salvatore Caruso and Federico Gaio in the final, 6–4, 5–7, [10–7].


2020 Rio Open – Singles
Laslo Đere was the defending champion, but withdrew with an abdominal injury before the tournament began.


2020 Rio Open – Singles
Cristian Garín won the title, defeating Gianluca Mager in the final, 7–6(7–3), 7–5.


2020 Rio Open – Singles
This was the first Clay Court tournament where players were allowed to use the challenge system.


2020 Rio de Janeiro mayoral election
The 2020 Rio de Janeiro municipal election took place in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November 2020 to elect a mayor, a vice mayor, and 51 city councillors for the administration of the city. On the 29 November 2020 run-off election, former mayor Eduardo Paes, of the Democrats (DEM), defeated incumbent mayor Marcelo Crivella of the Republicans (REP), who lost his bid for re-election.


2020 Rio de Janeiro mayoral election, Municipal Chamber
The result of the last municipal election and the current situation in the Municipal Chamber is given below:


2020 Rising Phoenix World Championships
The  2020 Rising Phoenix World Championships was an IFBB Wings of Strength female professional bodybuilding competition. It was held on December 5, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Andrea Shaw was the champion, becoming Ms Rising Phoenix 2020.


2020 River Plate Montevideo season
River Plate took part both in the Uruguayan Primera División, and 2020 Copa Sudamericana. Season was abruptly suspended on March 2020, due to Covid-19 outbreaks apparences all over the country, and resumed on August.


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, Squad, First team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, Primera División, Apertura 2020, Matches
1: Fourth round was suspended on March 14th due to Coronavirus outbreak appearances all over the country .


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, Primera División, Apertura 2020, Matches
2: The match was suspended after 20 minutes due to stormy weather. To be resumed on September 16. .


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, Primera División, Clausura 2020, Matches
1:  River Plate were awarded two points and Fénix were deducted one point due to Fénix fielding the ineligible player Bryan Olivera during the Torneo Clausura match between both teams. .


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, 2020 Copa Sudamericana, First Stage
River Plate won 3-1 on aggregate score and advanced to the second stage.


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, 2020 Copa Sudamericana, Second Stage
River Plate won 4-2 on aggregate score and advanced to the Round of 16.


2020 River Plate Montevideo season, 2020 Copa Sudamericana, Round of 16
Tied 2–2 on aggregate, Universidad Católica won on away goals and advanced to the quarter-finals (Match S4).


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack
The 2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack was a cruise missile and drone attack carried out by the Yemeni Houthi rebels which occurred on 23 June 2020. The attack according to the Houthis targeted the King Khalid Airport and the Defense Ministry headquarters in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh.


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack
The Saudi-led coalition reported the interception of 8 Houthis UAVs and 3 ballistic missiles launched at Riyadh. However two loud explosions were heard in Riyadh.


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack
According to Saudi-led coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki, the Houthi attack was "a deliberate hostile action designed to target civilians".


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack, Background
In March 2018, Houthi forces targeted Riyadh with missile attacks, killing an Egyptian national and wounding two others.


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack, Background
In June 2019, the Houthis launched cruise missiles at Abha International Airport and killed a Syrian civilian and wounded 47 others.


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack, Background
In September 2019, Iranian forces launched an attack on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq–Khurais energy facility.


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack, Background
During the ongoing civil war in Yemen and the Saudi intervention in Yemen, Houthi forces were achieving territorial gains in the Al Jawf Governorate and in Marib. The attack is considered by analysts as a big escalation in the war and a reason for Saudi Arabia to reconsider "its military prowess".


2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack, Attacks
According to the Houthis the attack was carried out targeting 5 locations in Saudi Arabia and Yemen:


2020 RoPS season
The 2020 season is RoPS's 7th Veikkausliiga season since their promotion back to the top flight in 2012.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 19 November 2019, RoPS announced the signing of Obed Malolo and Arinse Uade.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 21 November 2019, Aleksandr Kokko signed a new contract for the 2020 season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 4 December 2019, Eetu Muinonen signed a new contract for the 2020 season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 10 December 2019, Wato Kuaté returned to RoPS, signing a two year contract.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 11 December 2019, Youness Rahimi signed a new contract for the 2020 season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 18 December 2019, RoPS announced the signing of Raymond Gyasi.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 10 February, RoPS announced the signing of Martin Kompalla.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 9 March, RoPS announced the signing of Zurab Tsiskaridze from Al-Jabalain.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 10 March, RoPS announced the signing of Kalle Katz on loan from HJK, until the end of the season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 7 June, RoPS announced the signing of Enoch Banza on loan from HJK, until the end of the season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 9 June, RoPS announced the signing of Daniel Carr, who'd last played for Apollon Limassol.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 15 June, RoPS announced the signing of Matias Niemelä on loan from HJK, until the end of the season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 31 July, Joonas Vahtera joined on loan from HJK for the remainder of the season.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 12 August, Martin Kompalla left RoPS by mutual consent, whilst Sammy Ndjock joined the club.


2020 RoPS season, Season Events
On 15 September, Vesa Tauriainen left his role as Head Coach, with Mikko Mannila being appointed as his replacement on 16 September.


2020 RoPS season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Road to Le Mans
The 5th Road to Le Mans Cup is an automobile endurance event that will take place on 17 and 19 September 2020, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France. The race features LMP3 and GT3 category cars competing in their respective classes.


2020 Road to Le Mans, Qualifying
Provisional pole positions in each class are denoted in bold.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby
The 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2020 Kentucky Derby, which was held on September 5 (rescheduled from the traditional first Saturday in May due to the coronavirus pandemic). The field for the Derby is limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby
There are three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby: the main Road consisting of races in North America (plus one in Dubai), the Japan Road consisting of four races in Japan, and the European Road with seven European races in England, Ireland and France. The top four finishers in the specified races receive points, with higher points awarded in the major prep races. Earnings in non-restricted stakes races act as a tie breaker.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby
When originally announced in September 2019, the main Road to the Kentucky Derby would have remained substantially the same as the 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby, consisting of 35 races, 19 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 16 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season. Fair Grounds Race Course subsequently made minor changes to the length of the three qualifying races that it hosts: the Lecomte Stakes goes from a mile and 70 yards to 1+1⁄16 miles, the Risen Star from 1+1⁄16 to 1+1⁄8 miles, and the Louisiana Derby goes from 1+1⁄8 to 1+3⁄16 miles. However in March 2020, the growing coronavirus pandemic prompted the cancellation of several prep races, and the rescheduling of the Derby itself. Churchill Downs added more qualifying races to the series in May  which became known as the Extended Series.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Main Road to the Kentucky Derby, Standings
The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races for the main series. The ranking is for horses that are still pointing towards the race, as shown on the Derby Leaderboard published by Churchill Downs on August 22, updated for subsequently announced withdrawals from the field.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Main Road to the Kentucky Derby, Standings
Authentic, who was the eventual winner of the Kentucky Derby, qualified for the race in second place by winning the Haskell, Sham and San Felipe, plus finishing second in the Santa Anita Derby.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Main Road to the Kentucky Derby, Prep season
Note: 1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 point (except the Breeders' Cup Juvenile: 1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 points)


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Main Road to the Kentucky Derby, Championship series events, Second leg of series
These races are the major preps for the Kentucky Derby, and are thus weighted more heavily. Additional races are scheduled to be added in the summer as to make up for cancelled races towards the September 5 Derby. Note: 1st=100 points; 2nd=40 points; 3rd=20 points; 4th=10 points


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Main Road to the Kentucky Derby, Extended series events
The following races were announced for the extension of the Road to the Kentucky Derby as a result of the Derby being run in September instead of May.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Main Road to the Kentucky Derby, Extended series events
Note: Belmont Stakes:  1st=150 points;  2nd=60 points; 3rd=30 points; 4th=15 pointsBlue Grass Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, Haskell Invitational, Travers Stakes: 1st=100 points; 2nd=40 points; 3rd=20 points; 4th=10 pointsMatt Winn Stakes, Ellis Park Derby, Shared Belief Stakes, Peter Pan Stakes:  1st=50 points; 2nd=20 points; 3rd=10 points; 4th=5 pointsPegasus Stakes, Indiana Derby, Los Alamitos Derby, Ohio Derby:  1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 points


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby
The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby is intended to provide a place in the Derby starting gate to the top finisher in the series. If the connections of that horse decline the invitation, their place is offered to the second-place finisher and so on through the top four finishers. If neither of the top four accept, this place in the starting gate reverts to the horses on the main road to the Derby.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby
The top point earners were Café Pharoah(70 points), Danon Pharoah (40 points), Herrschaft (40 points) and Dieu du Vin (26 points). None of the invitations were accepted.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby
Note:Cattleya Sho:  1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 pointZen-Nippon Nisai Yushun:  1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 pointsHyacinth: 1st=30 points; 2nd=12 points; 3rd=6 points; 4th=3 pointsOther 3 races : 1st=40 points; 2nd=16 points; 3rd=8 points; 4th=4 points


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby
The top four horses (colored brown within the standings) are eligible to participate in the Kentucky Derby provided the horse is nominated.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, European Road to the Kentucky Derby
The European Road to the Kentucky Derby is designed on a similar basis to the Japan Road and is intended to provide a place in the Derby starting gate to the top finisher in the series. If the connections of that horse decline the invitation, their place is offered to the second-place finisher and so on. If none of the top four accept, this place in the starting gate reverts to the horses on the main road to the Derby.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, European Road to the Kentucky Derby
The series was supposed to consist of seven races – four run on the turf in late 2019 when the horses were age two, plus three races run on a synthetic surface in early 2020. The last race in the series, the Cardinal Stakes, was postponed when horse racing in Britain was suspended from mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, European Road to the Kentucky Derby
The top point earners were Nobel Prize (30 points), Crossfirehurricane (20 points), Chares (20 points) and Kameko (14 points). None of the invitations were accepted.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, European Road to the Kentucky Derby
The top four horses (colored brown within the standings) are eligible to participate in the Kentucky Derby provided the horse is nominated.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks
The 2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks is a points system by which Thoroughbred fillies will qualify for the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, which will be held on September 4 (rescheduled from the traditional first Saturday in May due to the coronavirus pandemic). The field for the Kentucky Oaks, the filly equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, is limited to fourteen horses, with up to four "also eligible" horses in case of a late withdrawal from the field.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks
Originally, the 30 races in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks were to be held from September 2019 (when the fillies are age two) through April 2020 (when they have turned three). However in March 2020, the growing coronavirus pandemic prompted the cancellation of several prep races, and the rescheduling of the Oaks itself. Churchill Downs is currently considering adding more qualifying races to the series with points to be determined. The top four finishers in the specified races earn points, with the highest point values awarded in the major preparatory races. Earnings in non-restricted stakes act as a tie breaker.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks
Fillies who instead wish to enter the Kentucky Derby have to earn the necessary points in the races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby: points earned on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks are not transferable. However if a filly does earn qualifying points for the Derby by racing in open company, those points also count towards qualifying for the Oaks.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Standings
The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races for the main series as of May 2, 2020.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Race results
The dates for some upcoming races shown below are based on the placement in the racing calendar from 2018/2019. Similarly, the purses shown for upcoming races are based on the amounts from the previous year and will be updated when finalized.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Race results, Extended series events
The following preliminary list of races have been announced for the extension of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. These races have been added to the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks as a result of the Oaks being run in September instead of May.


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Race results, Extended series events
1: Project Whiskey2: Dream Marie3: Princess Cadey4: Piece of My Heart


2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Race results, Extended series events
1: Hopeful Growth2: Project Whiskey3: Eve of War4: Dream Marie


2020 Robert Morris Colonials football team
The 2020 Robert Morris Colonials football team will represent Robert Morris University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They will be led by third-year head coach Bernard Clark and play their home games at Joe Walton Stadium.


2020 Robert Morris Colonials football team
On June 15, 2020, Robert Morris announced that it would be leaving the Northeast Conference for the Horizon League in all sports except football, with the move officially taking place on July 1, 2020. The football team originally planned to play as an FCS independent for the 2020 season before moving to the Big South Conference in 2021. Robert Morris's 2020 football schedule was initially unchanged, meaning that all NEC opponents would have lost a conference game.


2020 Robert Morris Colonials football team
These plans would be upended by COVID-19, which led most FCS conferences to cancel their originally scheduled fall 2020 seasons. Most of these leagues, among them the Big South and NEC, eventually moved football to spring 2021. Of the eight schools that had planned to field teams in the Big South's 2020 fall season, only Campbell and North Alabama played in the fall, and Hampton chose not to play football at all in the 2020–21 school year. The Big South ultimately chose to hold a  spring 2021 season with the remaining four teams plus RMU, with the Colonials eligible for the conference title.


2020 Robert Morris Colonials football team, Previous season
The Colonials finished the 2019 season 7–6, 6–1 in NEC play to finish in second place.


2020 Robert Morris Colonials football team, Schedule
Robert Morris released their original football schedule on April 9, 2020. A game against Hawaii (scheduled for September 26) was added on July 14, to compensate for Hawaii having to cancel four non-conference games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 15, Robert Morris's game against Bryant, scheduled for November 7, was canceled due to Robert Morris's reclassification as an independent. On July 27, Robert Morris's game against Dayton was canceled due to the Pioneer Football League's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 9, 2020, the Big South announced a spring 2021 schedule, with RMU competing.


2020 Rochester Knighthawks season
The Rochester Knighthawks are a lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2020 season will be the team's 1st season in the league. The original Knighthawks moved to Halifax to become the Halifax Thunderbirds. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended on March 12, 2020. On April 8, the league made a further public statement announcing the cancellation of the remaining games of the 2020 season and that they would be exploring options for playoffs once it was safe to resume play.


2020 Rochester Knighthawks season, Regular season, Current standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2020 Rochester Knighthawks season, Roster, Entry Draft
The 2019 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 17, 2019. The Knighthawks made the following selections:


2020 Rock Cup
The 2020 Gibtelecom Rock Cup was a single-leg knockout tournament contested by clubs from Gibraltar. There were thirteen clubs participating in the cup this season. The winner of the competition would have qualified to compete in the 2020–21 Europa League.


2020 Rock Cup
Europa were the defending champions after defeating Gibraltar United by a score of 3–0 in the previous season's final.


2020 Rock Cup
On 1 May 2020, the Gibraltar Football Association announced that the domestic football season had been terminated.


2020 Rock Cup, First round
The draw for the first round was held on 10 January 2020. 9 Gibraltar National League sides will enter at this stage along with Hound Dogs, who are competing in the 2019–20 Gibraltar Intermediate League. Three sides (St Joseph's, Lions Gibraltar and Boca Gibraltar) received byes to the second round.


2020 Rock Cup, Quarter–finals
The draw for the quarter–finals was held on 21 February 2020.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters
The 2020 Rolex Paris Masters was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 48th edition of the tournament, and a Masters 1000 event on the 2020 ATP Tour.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, it took place with no fans. It was held at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, between 2 and 8 November 2020.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw:


2020 Rolex Paris Masters, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry using a special exempt into the main singles draw:


2020 Rolex Paris Masters, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw:


2020 Rolex Paris Masters, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2020 Rolex Paris Masters, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received entry into the doubles main draw as alternates:


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Doubles
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut were the defending champions, but lost in the quarterfinals to Łukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Doubles
Félix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz won the title, defeating Mate Pavić and Bruno Soares in the final, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(9–7), [10–2].


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Singles
Daniil Medvedev defeated Alexander Zverev in the final, 5–7, 6–4, 6–1, to win the Singles title at the 2020 Paris Masters.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but he chose not to participate this year.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Singles
Rafael Nadal's victory over Feliciano López in the second round made him only the fourth man in the Open Era to have won 1,000 matches on the ATP Tour. His loss to Zverev in the semifinals meant that Djokovic secured the year-end ATP No. 1 singles ranking for the sixth time, equaling the all-time record held by Pete Sampras.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2020 Rolex Paris Masters – Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2020 Romanian legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Romania on 6 December 2020 to elect the 136 members of the Senate and the 330 constituent members of the Chamber of Deputies.


2020 Romanian legislative election
While the Social Democratic Party (PSD) remained the largest political party in the Parliament, its vote share dropped considerably, more specifically by a third. Following the elections, a center-right coalition government was formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL), USR PLUS, and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians (UDMR) (i.e. the current Cîțu Cabinet) with Florin Cîțu as Prime Minister.


2020 Romanian legislative election
The final voter turnout was approximately 32%, the lowest since the end of the Communist era in Romania, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Electoral system
The 136 members of the Senate are also elected using party-list proportional representation, but from 43 constituencies based on the 41 counties (a total of 121 seats), Bucharest (13 seats) and one for Romanians living overseas (two seats).


2020 Romanian legislative election, Electoral system
The 330 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by several methods: 308 are elected from 42 multi-member constituencies based on counties and Bucharest, using proportional representation, four are elected using proportional representation from a constituency representing Romanians living abroad. Parties must pass a threshold of 5% of the national vote or at least 20% of the vote in four constituencies. Further seats (currently 18) can be added for ethnic minority groups that compete in the elections and pass a special (lower) threshold (calculated as 10% of the votes needed to obtain one of the regular 312 seats).


2020 Romanian legislative election, Government
The previous election saw the Social Democratic Party (PSD) led by Liviu Dragnea emerge as the largest party in parliament, although they fell short of an absolute majority. The PSD formed a coalition agreement with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, forming the Grindeanu Cabinet in January 2017. However, the new government did not last long and was replaced by the Tudose Cabinet in June 2017, which was also short-lived. Ultimately, the Dăncilă Cabinet took office in January 2018.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Government
It was dismissed by a motion of no confidence in October 2019, and replaced by a National Liberal Party minority government under Ludovic Orban in November 2019. The Orban Cabinet was dismissed by a motion of no confidence on the 5 February 2020, but took office again on 14 March 2020.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Period before the political campaign
The government decided parliamentary elections would be held on 6 December 2020. On 30 September 2020, the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, proposed on Facebook that the elections be postponed to March 2021. On 2 October 2020, former Save Romania Union (USR) deputy Adrian Dohotaru submitted a bill to the Senate, proposing the parliamentary elections be held on 14 March 2021, which received support from the Social Democratic Party (PSD).


2020 Romanian legislative election, Period before the political campaign
On 7 October 2020, the first vice-president of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu, claimed that the government's plan would lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases. On 8 October, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu and Victor Ponta announced in a press conference that their parties will run in the elections on a shared list under a single name:  Social-Liberal PRO Romania (Romanian: PRO România Social-Liberal).


2020 Romanian legislative election, Period before the political campaign
PSD President Marcel Ciolacu announced on 15 October that the World Health Organization's representative in Romania, Alexandru Rafila, was one of the party's candidates for the parliamentary elections. He will be top of the list of deputies for the Bucharest circumscription, while Gabriela Firea will lead the list of senators.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Parties
The following table presents the composition of the Parliament of Romania during the 2016–2020 legislative term.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Opinion polls, Graphical summary
The chart below shows opinion polls conducted for the next Romanian legislative election. The trend lines represent local regressions (LOESS).


2020 Romanian legislative election, Incidents
An 80-year-old man from Teiu, Argeș fell into cardiac arrest and died outside a polling station on election day. He was known to have heart problems.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Incidents
Two polling stations from Sector 3 of Bucharest had their voting suspended: for about an hour at polling station 551, after a member of the electoral bureau tested positive for COVID-19; and for two and a half hours at station 643, after the death of a voter.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Results, Exit polls
Four institutions were by accredited the Central Electoral Bureau (Romanian: Biroul Electoral Central) to conduct exit polls at a national level: AVANGARDE, CURS, Megatronic World Productions and Ana Events & PR.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Results, Exit polls
CURS-AVANGARDE made an exit-poll for Romanian news station Antena 3, that was presented at 21:00 EET. The data from the exit poll was for the votes registered until 19:30 EET.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Results, Official count
Participation was 33.30% and 5.9 million valid votes were cast. After counting all votes, but before the settlement of any appeals, PSD has won around 29.5% of the votes, PNL around 25.5%, USR PLUS around 15.5%, AUR around 9%, and UDMR around 6%. The high result of the quasi-unknown party AUR was considered a huge surprise, while PMP and PRO Romania both failed to get 5% of the votes required to win any seats.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Aftermath
On 18 December, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the USR PLUS, and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) announced that they had reached a coalition agreement, and proposed finance minister Florin Cîțu as prime minister. The government would have two deputy prime ministers (one from USR PLUS and one from UDMR) and 18 ministries, with 9 allocated for the PNL, 6 for USR PLUS, and 3 for UDMR. The allocations are as follows (with newly created ministries italicized):


2020 Romanian legislative election, Aftermath
Cîțu was officially appointed as Prime Minister-designate on 22 December by President Klaus Iohannis. On 23 December, the Cabinet was invested by the parliament and took oath of office on the same evening.


2020 Romanian legislative election, Aftermath
The Romanian Electoral Authority stated that the campaign financing publicly subsidies amounted to a grand total of 166,850,315.50 Romanian Lei. The parties/candidates were required to achieve at least 3% of the vote to apply for a public subsidy of their campaign expenditures.


2020 Romanian local elections
Local elections in Romania were held on 27 September 2020. Initially planned for June 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led the Government of Romania to postpone the elections to a date no later than 31 December 2020, and extending all the terms of the local offices due to expire on 5 June 2020.


2020 Romanian local elections
The move was deemed unconstitutional, and, in the end, a law was passed that extended the terms of the local officials up to 30 November 2020, and allowed the elections to be called by the Parliament, rather than by the Government, no later than that day. On 8 July 2020, the Parliament of Romania adopted a law setting the date of the elections on 27 September 2020.


2020 Romanian local elections, Rules
Using a first past the post system, the following offices will be contested:


2020 Romanian local elections, Deaths
The former PMP mayor of Sadova, Eugen Safta, who had just gotten re-elected, suffered a heart attack and died. His death was declared on 28 September 2020, at 2 AM EEST.


2020 Romanian local elections, Deaths
Ion Aliman, the PSD mayor of Deveselu, was re-elected for a third term, despite having had died of COVID-19 10 days earlier. He received 1,020 votes, out of a total of 1,600. Until a term of partial elections will be held, the vice mayor will have acting mayor attributions.


2020 Romanian local elections, Electoral maps
Counties and mayors of major cities by the colour of the elected representatives


2020 Romans-sur-Isère knife attack
In late morning on 4 April 2020, a knife attack occurred in Romans-sur-Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, resulting in the death of two people and the wounding of five others. The attacker, Abdallah Ahmed-Osman, a 33-year old Sudanese refugee, was charged with terrorist crimes.


2020 Romans-sur-Isère knife attack, Attack
The attacker entered a tobacco shop, where he stabbed the two owners and a customer, wounding them; he went on to a butcher's shop, where he stole a knife and killed a customer. He then killed another man, the owner of a local theatre who died shielding his twelve-year-old son, and then wounded two people waiting in line outside a bakery.


2020 Romans-sur-Isère knife attack, Attack
The suspect was a 33-year-old Sudanese man who had obtained refugee status and a 10-year visa in 2017. According to Arabic-speaking witnesses, he shouted "Allah Akbar" when he launched his attack and, at the time of his arrest, kneeled down and recited the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith. A terrorism investigation was launched. Searches at his home revealed handwritten notes complaining about living in a "country of disbelievers". On 8 April, he was indicted for "assassinations and attempted assassinations in connection with a terrorist group".


2020 Romans-sur-Isère knife attack, Attack
The attack occurred during the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship
The 2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship is the 120th edition of the Roscommon GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior clubs in County Roscommon, Ireland. 12 teams compete, with the winner representing Roscommon in the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a group stage and then progresses to a knock out stage.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship
Padraig Pearses were the defending champions after they defeated Roscommon Gaels in the 2019 final to claim their 1st ever S.F.C. crown.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship
This was Tulsk Lord Edward's return to the top flight of Roscommon football after claiming the 2019 I.F.C. title.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2019 championship season.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship, Group Stage
There are three groups of four teams called Group A, B and C. The 1st and 2nd placed teams in Groups A, B and C automatically qualify for the Quarter-Finals. One third placed team from one of the three groups will receive a bye into the Quarter-Finals in an open draw. The remaining two 3rd placed teams will meet in a  Quarter-Final Play-Off to determine the team that completes the Quarter-Finals lineup. The 4th placed teams will proceed to the Relegation Play-Off to determine which team will suffer relegation.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship, Group Stage
Each team has home advantage in one round, plays away in another before a neutral venue is for another round.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship, Knock-Out Stage, Preliminary Quarter-Final
One third placed team from one of the three groups will receive a bye into the Quarter-Finals in an open draw (St. Croan's). The remaining two 3rd placed teams will meet in a  Quarter-Final Play-Off to determine the team that completes the Quarter-Finals lineup.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship, Knock-Out Stage, Quarter-Finals
The 1st placed teams in Groups A, B and C along with the 2nd placed team with the best record are seeded for the Quarter-Final draw and cannot meet each other in the Quarter-Finals. The remaining 2nd and 3rd placed tams in the Quarter-Finals are unseeded. No pairing which is a repeat of a group stage fixture can occur in the Quarter-Finals.


2020 Roscommon Senior Football Championship, Relegation Play-Off
The Relegation Play-Off will consist of the 4th placed finishers in Groups A, B and C. The two teams with the best group record play in the Relegation Semi-Final. The loser of this semi-final must play-off with the remaining team in the Relegation Final. The winner of the Semi-Final and Final retains their senior status for 2021, while the loser of the Relegation Final must ply their trade in the I.F.C. for 2021.


2020 Rose Bowl
The 2020 Rose Bowl Game was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2020, with kickoff at 5:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. local PST) on ESPN. It was the 106th edition of the Rose Bowl Game, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Northwestern Mutual financial services organization, the game was officially known as the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual, and was a rematch of the 2012 Rose Bowl.


2020 Rose Bowl, Teams
The game matched Big Ten Conference runner-up Wisconsin and Pac-12 Conference champion Oregon. The 2012 Rose Bowl featured the same teams, won by Oregon, who scored 10 unanswered fourth-quarter points in a 45–38 victory.


2020 Rose Bowl, Teams, Oregon Ducks
Oregon entered the game with an 11–2 record (8–1 in conference). They finished atop the Pac-12's North Division, then defeated Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game to secure their spot in the Rose Bowl. Oregon was 2–1 against ranked FBS opponents, defeating Washington and Utah while losing to Auburn. The Ducks' only other loss was to Arizona State. This was Oregon's eighth Rose Bowl; they had a 3–4 record in prior appearances, last playing in the 2015 edition, which they won over Florida State.


2020 Rose Bowl, Teams, Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin entered the game with a 10–3 record (7–2 in conference). They finished tied with Minnesota atop the Big Ten's West Division, and advanced to the Big Ten Championship Game due to their regular season win over Minnesota. In the Big Ten title game, the Badgers fell to Ohio State, 34–21. As Ohio State was selected for the College Football Playoff, Wisconsin received an invitation to the Rose Bowl. The Badgers were 3–2 against ranked opponents, defeating Michigan, Iowa, and Minnesota while losing to Ohio State twice. Their only other loss was to Illinois. This was Wisconsin's tenth Rose Bowl; they had a 3–6 record in prior appearances, last playing in the 2013 edition, which they lost to Stanford.


2020 Rose Bowl, Game summary, Statistics
Some controversy has arisen from an offensive pass interference call that went against Wisconsin near the end of the game, which nullified a Wisconsin first down and eventually gave the ball back to Oregon, who was able to run the clock down and win the game. The call and its impact on the game led former NFL referee Terry McAulay to publicly disagree with the call.


2020 Rosenborg BK season
The 2020 season is Rosenborg's 41st consecutive year in the top flight now known as Eliteserien, their 53rd season in the top flight of Norwegian football. They will participate in Eliteserien, the Cup and Europa League entering at the First Qualifying round. The end of the pre-season and the start of the season were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After two months, the season was confirmed to start 16 June, with full training starting from 7 May. This was Eirik Horneland's second season as Rosenborg manager, but he was let go after only 3 matches. Trond Henriksen took over as interim manager until Åge Hareide was appointed new manager. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic only 200 fans were allowed in the stadiums the first 20 rounds, while 600 fans were allowed in the remaining 10 rounds.


2020 Rosenborg BK season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Rostelecom Cup
The 2020 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event in the 2020–21 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia on November 20–22. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance.


2020 Rostelecom Cup
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of modifications were made to the Grand Prix structure. The competitors consisted only of skaters from the home country, skaters already training in the host nation, and skaters assigned to that event for geographic reasons. However, the event became controversial after apparent COVID-19 spread among attendees led to suggestions that it had been a superspreading event.


2020 Rostelecom Cup, Entries
The International Skating Union announced the preliminary assignments on October 1, 2020.


2020 Rostelecom Cup, Results, Ladies
Anna Shcherbakova withdrew prior to the short program due to illness.


2020 Rostelecom Cup, COVID-19 spread and controversy
Despite some precautionary measures being taken, the Rostelecom Cup's organization came under criticism for, like many other Russian domestic competitions held during the season, allowing a large audience and insufficient enforcement of mandates regarding social distancing and proper mask usage.


2020 Rostelecom Cup, COVID-19 spread and controversy
A focal point of criticism was the decision to hold the traditional post-competition banquet where many skaters were documented not wearing masks or socially distancing at all, as well as sharing food from a communal buffet; in addition, several skaters who competed at the event were photographed in the following weeks at a birthday party for retired Russian skater Alena Leonova.


2020 Rostelecom Cup, COVID-19 spread and controversy
Several Russian skaters who competed at the event subsequently reported contracting the virus in the weeks afterward, including Dmitri Aliev, Alena Kostornaia, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Victoria Sinitsina, and Nikita Katsalapov. Estonian skater Eva-Lotta Kiibus later also reported contracting COVID-19 at the event and was still suffering effects two months later.


2020 Rostelecom Cup, COVID-19 spread and controversy
Irina Rodnina, a three-time Olympic pairs champion for Russia and current State Duma member, strongly criticized the handling of the Rostelecom Cup and cited it as an example of the government needing to more aggressively fine people for non-compliance. After the event, an American journalist questioned Jan Dijkema, president of the ISU, whether the Figure Skating Federation of Russia would be sanctioned over their disregard for safety protocols. Dijkema acknowledged "the regrettable news about the situation involving positive test results for COVID-19 of certain Russian Skaters  [sic]," but denied the ISU taking responsibility over the situation due to the 2020–21 Grand Prix series' semi-domestic nature.


2020 Rot am See shooting
On 24 January 2020, six people were killed and two others were wounded in a mass shooting in Rot am See, Germany. One suspect, a 26-year-old German citizen, was arrested after reporting himself to the police.


2020 Rot am See shooting, Shooting
The shooting either occurred inside a restaurant or inside a train station and a nearby house. The motive is suspected to be a family dispute. Three men and three women were killed, aged from 36 to 69. The victims were family members of the shooter, including his parents. The shooting happened around 12:45 local time (11:45 UTC). German authorities on Saturday increased their investigation into the motivation behind the shooting. Criminologist and criminal psychologist Rudolf Egg said that the shooter acted impulsively and explosively, ruling out the possibility that the attack was premeditated.


2020 Rot am See shooting, Shooting, Victims
Three of the victims killed were men aged 36, 65 and 69, while the three others were women aged 36, 56 and 62. The police confirmed that two of the deceased were the suspect's parents.


2020 Rot am See shooting, Shooting, Victims
Two other victims were alive and being treated in a local hospital, one with life-threatening injuries. Two people were found inside the house, and four people in front of it. The two injured victims were a man and a woman, whom the authorities said were "not locals." Officials were trying to determine what relationship they might have had to the suspect.


2020 Rot am See shooting, Shooting, Victims
On the Saturday night after, citizens of Rot am See placed memorial candles for the victims in the place.


2020 Route d'Occitanie
The 2020 Route d'Occitanie was a men's road bicycle race which took place from 1 to 4 August 2020 in France. It was the 44th edition of the Route d'Occitanie. The race was rated as a 2.1 event and formed part of the 2020 UCI Europe Tour.


2020 Route d'Occitanie, Teams
Twenty-one teams participated in the race. The teams that participated were:


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire
On April 12, 2020, at 3 AM, a structure fire broke out beneath the roof of the Royal Chapel cathedral in Milot, Haiti. By the time firefighters arrived to stop the fire from spreading, the dome of the cathedral had collapsed and the rest of the building was already badly burnt. The dome collapsed, causing the loss of everything  inside the building.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire
According to Bishop Alain Prophète and Director Patrick Durandis, art objects and religious relics that were inside of the building were destroyed by the fire, but there were a few items close to the door that only suffered smoke damage. Even some exterior items were damaged because the fire was powerful. There was no electricity in the neighborhood the night of the fire.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire
According to government officials, it will take time to build the Royal Chapel of Milot like it was before under the leadership of King Henri Christophe, but UNESCO offered help.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Church background
King Henri Christophe had Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception  built by Joseph Chery Warlock. The construction took place from 1810-1813. It  is located at the entry to the Sans-Souci Palace, in the town of Milot, Nord, about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) northeast of the Citadelle Laferrière, and 13 kilometers (8.1 mi) southwest of the Three Bays Protected Area.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Church background
The Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence. Henri I lived there with his wife, Queen Marie-Louise, and their two daughters. It was the most important structure the king had built (including  nine other palaces, fifteen castles, numerous forts, and sprawling summer homes on his twenty plantations.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Church background
Before Sans-Souci was built, Milot used to be a French plantation that Christophe managed for a period during the Haitian Revolution. Under his administration, the palace was the site of opulent feasts and dances. It had beautiful arts, immense gardens, artificial springs, and a system of waterworks. Though Sans-Souci is now an empty place, at the time its splendor was noted by many foreign visitors. One American physician even remarked that it had "the reputation of having been one of the most magnificent edifices of the West Indies."


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Church background
Citadelle Laferrière is located in the northern department of Haiti and the palace is surrounded by mountains and the surrounding area is very rich in trees. The oldest palace is now a tourist attraction visited by people from around the world.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Church background
A severe earthquake in 1842 destroyed a considerable part of the palace and devastated the nearby city of Cap-Haïtien; the palace was never rebuilt. The dome of the chapel, which collapsed during the earthquake, was rebuilt in 1970 by Haitian architect Albert Mangonès. The palace (before its destruction) was acknowledged by many to be the Caribbean equivalent of the Palace of Versailles in France.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Fire
The whole building was already destroyed by the fire before firefighters arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, art objects and religious relics that were inside of the building were destroyed by the fire, and it was too late to save the building.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Fire
According to Jacques Bernadin, the Mayor of Milot, the firefighters of the town hall of Cap-Haitien arrived on the scene two hours after being alerted, but it was too late.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Fire, Reactions
After the fire destroyed the church, Bishop Alain Prophète, Director Patrick Durandis lamented the neglect of cultural monuments and the youth demanded an investigation as well.


2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire, Investigation
Days after the fire had destroyed the building, the national government asked officials in Milot to investigate the cause of the fire.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship
The 2020 Rugby Europe Championship is the fourth season of the Rugby Europe International Championships, the premier rugby union competition for European national teams outside the Six Nations Championship. The competing teams are Belgium, Georgia, Romania, Russia and Spain (the top five teams from 2019), and Portugal, who qualified after defeating Germany in the promotion/relegation play-off of the 2019 Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads
This is a list of the complete squads for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship, an annual rugby union tournament contested by the national rugby teams of Belgium, Spain, Georgia, Portugal, Romania and Russia. Georgia are the defending champions.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads
Note: Number of caps and players' ages are indicated as of 1 February 2020 – the tournament's opening day.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Belgium
On 20 January 2020, Guillaume Ajac named a 48-man squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Belgium
Note – Players in bold have played more matches than shown above but there is no information of Belgium caps pre-2013.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Georgia
On 17 January 2020, Levan Maisashvili named his 34-man squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Georgia
Call-upsOn 5 February, Akaki Tabutsatde was called up to replace Mirian Modebadze and Giorgi Kveseladze due to minor injuries whereas Konstantin Mikautadze left the squad due to club commitments.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Georgia
On 16 February, Lasha Tabidze was called up into the squad while Levan Chilachava, Beka Gigashvili, Mikheil Nariashvili and Vasil Lobzhanidze leave the squad for the less-experienced players to play. Also, Tornike Jalaghonia was called up to replace Otar Giorgadze who left the squad as well due to a minor injury.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Portugal
On 29 January 2020, Patrice Lagisquet named his 26-man squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Portugal
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Portugal
Note – Jorge Abecasis has been added to the squad on the 31 January 2020.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Romania
On 29 January 2020, Andy Robinson named a 33-man squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Romania
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Romania
Call-upsOn 3 February, Ionel Badiu, Costel Burțilă and Mihai Macovei were called up to replace Horațiu Pungea, Cosmin Manole, Vlad Neculau, Alexandru Bucur and Cătălin Fercu due to a contagious flu.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Romania
On 14 February, Horațiu Pungea, Cosmin Manole, Vlad Neculau and Cătălin Fercu have been re-called after having the flu along with Alexandru Savin, Marius Iftimiciuc Valentin Popârlan, Florian Roșu and Moa Mua Maliepo being called up for the first time this season to replace Ionel Badiu, Iulian Hartig and Țăruș.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
On 21 January 2020, Lyn Jones announced a 32-man squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
Call-upsOn 28 January, Evgeny Elgin was called up to replace Alexsandr Il`in (who will remain in the squad for the match versus Belgium) for the match versus Spain due to a minor injury sustained by Alexsandr Il`in.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
On 29 January, Shamil Magomedov and Patris Peki were called up to replace the players Tagir Gadzhiev and Bogdan Fedotko due to injuries accumulated during training.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
On 4 February, Alexey Scobyola was called up to replace Andrey Polivalov while Tagir Gadzhiev and Stanislav Sel'skiy left the squad due to injuries accumulated during the opening match against Spain.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
On 6 February, Valery Morozov was called up for the match against Belgium.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Russia
On 14 February, Nikita Churashov, German Godlyuk, Roman Khodin, Dennis Mashkin, Andrei Ostrikov and Konstantin Uzunov were called up for the match against Portugal to replace Stepan Seryakov Sergey Chernyshev, Vasily Dorofeev, Nikita Vavilin and Khetag Dzobelov whilst Aleksandr Il`in, Alexei Shcherban and Yuri Kushnarev left the squad due to injuries from the previous match versus Belgium.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Spain
On 20 January 2020, Santiago Santos named a 31-man squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Spain
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Spain
Call-upsOn 3 February, Marco Pinto Ferrer, Asier Usarraga and Charly Malie, Tomás Munilla and Martín Alonso were called up to replace Matthew Bebe Smith, Michael Sequoia Hogg, Kerman Aurrekoetxea and Gauthier Minguillon.


2020 Rugby Europe Championship squads, Spain
On 17 February, José Díaz and Nicolás Jurado were called up to replace Fernando Martín López who sustained an injury in the previous match versus Georgia along with Manuel Mora, Álvar Gimeno, Nicolás Nieto, Federico Castiglioni, Baltazar Taibo and Sergio Molinero also joining the squad while Ien-Leight Ashcroft, Charly Malie and Guillaume Rouet left the squad due to club commitments. Also Jordi Jorba leaves the squad due to an major injury sustained in the opening match.


2020 Rugby League European Championship
The 2020 European Championship was a planned international rugby league tournament that would have taken place in October and November 2020. Six teams were to have competed in the 2020 edition, an increase from the four teams that participated in 2018. The teams were split into two pools of three, where the winners would have contested a final and the bottom teams would have been relegated to the 2022 European Championship B.


2020 Rugby League European Championship
On 10 July 2020 the Rugby League European Federation announced that the championship had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the next tournament would be the 2023 championship.


2020 Rugby League European Championship, Teams
The championship teams were the same four teams as 2018, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They were to be joined by Italy and Spain. France were the defending champions having won the 2018 edition.


2020 Rugby League European Championship, Draw
The draw was conducted on 31 January 2020 at the Red Star Sport Society Media Centre in Belgrade by Stevan Stevanovic and Jelena Stojiljkovic, the captains of Serbia's mens and women's rugby league teams respectively.


2020 Rugby League European Championship B
The 2020 European Championship B is an international rugby league tournament. Originally scheduled to take place in October and November 2020. In July 2020 the championship was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three teams competed in the 2020 edition, the same number of teams as the previous edition. Russia and Serbia remained, while Ukraine were the third team, joining the competition after Greece withdrew.


2020 Rugby League European Championship B
They played each other once in a round robin format, where the top team being promoted to the 2022 European Championship and the bottom team relegated to the 2022 European Championship C.  In April 2021 the Rugby League European Federation announced that the tournament will take place in October 2021 in a COVID-19 bubble in Belgrade, Serbia.


2020 Rugby League European Championship B
The tournament was won by Serbia, with Ukraine second and Russia third.


2020 Rugby League European Championship C
The 2020 European Championship C is an international rugby league tournament. Originally scheduled to take place in October and November 2020. In July 2020 the championship was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2021 the tournament was further postponed to 2022 as COVID-19 restrictions in Germany and Norway prevent the competition taking-place. Three teams will compete in the tournament, down from the six that participated in the previous edition. The three teams are Germany, Norway ,and Ukraine. They will play each other once in a round-robin format, where the top team will be promoted to the 2022 European Championship B and the bottom team will be relegated to the 2022 European Championship D.


2020 Rugby League European Championship D
The 2020 European Championship D is an international rugby league tournament. Originally scheduled to take place in October and November 2020. In July 2020 the championship was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four teams will compete in the inaugural edition. The four teams are Czech Republic, Malta, Netherlands and Turkey. Originally planned to be played to be played in May/June 2021 with the teams being drawn into two groups of two. The groups would play two games, one home and one away; with the aggregate winners of the two groups meeting in a final. In April 2021 the Rugby League European Federation announced that the tournament will be played at a single venue and that the format of the tournament will not be as originally announced.


2020 Rugby League European Championship D
The revised draw, venue and format were announced on 1 September 2021. The games are all to be staged in Bodrum, Turkey on 14 and 17 October and will be a single-leg knock-out tournament. To give each team two matches, the losers of the first round games will play a third-place game.


2020 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 2020 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in Penza, Russia between 4–8 November 2020. There was limited participation as some gymnasts were competing at the Friendship & Solidary Competition in Tokyo and others opted not to attend due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series
The 2020 SMP Russian Circuit Racing Series is the seventh season of the Russian Circuit Racing Series, organized by SMP Racing. It is the sixth season with TCR class cars. In 2020, the GT4 and CN classes were added to the main Touring, Touring Light, Super Production and S1600 classes.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series
Kiril Ladygin won the Russian Touring Car Championship, driving a Lada Vesta Sport TCR. Lada Sport Rosneft clinched the teams' title. Vladislav Nezvankin won the Super Production class, driving a Lada Vesta. Vladimir Sheshenin won the Touring Light class, driving a Lada Granta. Petr Plotnikov won the S1600 class, while Egor Fokin won the S1600 Junior; they were both driving a Volkswagen Polo Sedan. Denis Remenyako with Capital Racing Team won the GT4 class, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT4.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Teams and drivers, S1600
All teams and drivers are Russian-registered, with the exception of the Belarusian racer Alexei Savin..


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Calendar and results
The 2020 schedule was announced on 28 November 2019, with all events scheduled to be held in Russia. After the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 22, an updated calendar of SMP RCRS 2020 is presented.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Championship standings, Touring / TCR Russian Touring Car Championship
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Championship standings, Super Production
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Championship standings, Touring Light
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Championship standings, S1600
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Championship standings, S1600 Junior
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series, Championship standings, GT4
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2020 Russian Cup Final
The 2020 Russian Cup Final was the 27th Russian Cup Final, the final match of the 2019–20 Russian Cup. It was played at Yekaterinburg Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 25 July 2020, contested by Zenit St. Petersburg and Khimki. Zenit won the match 1–0, with the only goal coming from Artem Dzyuba's penalty kick in the 84th minute.


2020 Russian Cup Final
The game was originally scheduled for 13 May, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. For the same reason, attendance was limited to 10% of the arena's capacity and the teams were allowed to make 5 substitutions instead of customary 3.


2020 Russian Cup Final
Since Zenit had already qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, Dynamo Moscow will enter the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships
The 2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships (Russian: Чемпионат России по фигурному катанию на коньках 2020) were held from 24 to 29 December 2019 in Krasnoyarsk. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The results were among the criteria used to select the Russian teams for the 2020 European Championships and 2020 World Championships.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Competitions
In the 2019–20 season, Russian skaters competed in domestic qualifying events and national championships for various age levels. The Russian Cup series led to three events – the Russian Championships, the Russian Junior Championships, and the Russian Cup Final.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
The 2020 Russian Championships was held in Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai from 24 to 29 December 2019. Competitors qualified through international success or by competing in the Russian Cup series' senior-level events.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
There are three separate basis for qualification. 1. Qualification based on receiving 2019–20 Grand Prix assignment. 2 . Qualification based on qualifying for the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final. However, skaters must have been born in 2005 or earlier to be qualified for the Russian senior championships. In addition, junior ice dance teams do not compete at senior national championships due to different program requirements between the junior and senior levels. Consequently, ice dance teams cannot use their junior level programs for senior competition. 3. Qualification based on Russian Cup series' results.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
The 2020 Russian Junior Championships (Russian: Первенство России среди юниоров 2020) was be held in Saransk, Mordovia on 4–8 February 2020. Competitors qualified through international success or by competing in the Russian Cup series' junior-level events. The results of the Junior Championships were part of the selection criteria for the 2020 World Junior Championships.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
There are two separate basis for qualification. 1. Qualification based on competing at the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix series. 2 . Qualification based on Russian Cup series' junior-level results.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, International team selections, Winter Youth Olympics
The list with preliminary entries of the Russia's team to the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics was published on 16 December 2019. The final list was approved on 24 December 2019.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, International team selections, European Championships
Russia's team to the 2020 European Championships was published on 29 December 2019.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, International team selections, World Championships
Russia's team to the 2020 World Championships was published on 31 January 2020.


2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships, International team selections, World Junior Championships
Russia's team to the 2020 World Junior Championships was published on 10 February 2020.


2020 Russian Grand Prix
The 2020 Russian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race held on 27 September 2020 at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. The race was the tenth round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship, ninth running of the Russian Grand Prix and the seventh time held in Sochi. The 53-lap race was won by Valtteri Bottas of the Mercedes team, with Max Verstappen of Red Bull placing 2nd, and Lewis Hamilton taking the final podium place.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Background, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The 2020 championship was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the originally planned Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed, prompting the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile to draft a new calendar. However, the Russian Grand Prix kept its original date. Up to 30,000 fans were expected to attend the race with social distancing measures in place. Haas driver Romain Grosjean expressed discomfort over the handling of the pandemic situation at his hotel.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Background, Entrants
Ten teams (each representing a different constructor) each entered two drivers. The drivers and teams were the same as those on the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for either the race or practice.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Background, Tyres
Sole Formula One tyre manufacturer Pirelli supplied their C3, C4 and C5 compound tyres for teams to use in the race, the three softest compounds available.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Practice
The first free practice session ended with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas quickest, followed by Daniel Ricciardo of Renault and Max Verstappen of Red Bull. The session was disrupted first by McLaren driver Carlos Sainz Jr.'s spin in turn seven, which caused damage to his rear wing and triggered a virtual safety car. Nicholas Latifi of Williams spun in turn ten causing severe damage to his car and triggering another red flag.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Practice
The second practice session ended with Bottas ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Ricciardo. The third practice session ended with Hamilton fastest ahead of Bottas and Sainz Jr.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Hamilton took pole, 0.563s ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Valtteri Bottas finished 3rd with Sergio Pérez in 4th for Racing Point. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo qualified 5th followed by Carlos Sainz Jr., Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Out in Q1 (the first part of qualifying) were Romain Grosjean, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi and Kimi Räikkönen. In Q2, Charles Leclerc finished 11th, missing out on Q3 after his teammate Sebastian Vettel crashed, bringing out the red flag and Hamilton making it to the line to set his final lap in Q2 seconds before the chequered flag came out to end the session. Daniil Kvyat was 12th followed by Lance Stroll, whose engine overheated preventing him from going out for a second run in Q2, Williams driver George Russell and Vettel.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Race
Kimi Räikkönen started his 322nd Grand Prix, tying Rubens Barrichello's record. Carlos Sainz Jr. took to the run off area and hit the wall trying to rejoin the circuit at the race start. Charles Leclerc collided with Lance Stroll causing the latter to hit a wall. The safety car was sent out to clear the debris at the second turn.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Race
Lewis Hamilton was handed down two 5-second penalties for doing practice starts outside the designated areas, which he served on his first pitstop. Hamilton was also initially given two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence which would have left him on 10 penalty points for the last 12 months period, only two penalty points short of a race ban. However, these penalty points were rescinded after stewards received information that team radio communications had advised Hamilton about where he could or could not do a practice start and the team was fined instead for their error. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon were given a 5-second penalty for exceeding the track limits at turn 2.


2020 Russian Grand Prix, Race
The race was won by Valtteri Bottas ahead of Max Verstappen and Hamilton. The result left Hamilton leading the championship with 205 points from team mate Bottas on 161 points.


2020 Russian Indoor Athletics Championships
The 2020 Russian Indoor Athletics Championships was the 29th edition of the annual indoor track and field competition, which serves as the Russian national indoor championship for the sport. A total of 24 events (divided evenly between the sexes) were contested over three days from 13–15 February at the Alexander Gomelsky Universal Sports Hall CSKA in Moscow.


2020 Russian Indoor Athletics Championships
The Russian Ministry of Sport suspended the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) for one month on 31 January due ARAF officials obstructing in international anti-doping investigations into Danil Lysenko. As a result, RusAF did not organise the national championships and the Ministry of Sport managed this directly. Due to ongoing international sanctions for doping against the Russian governing body, the competition did not serve as a selection meet for the 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships.


2020 Russian Indoor Athletics Championships
In addition to the main track and field championship, national championships for combined track and field events were held from 16–18 February in Kirov.


2020 Russian Men's Curling Cup
The 2020 Russian Men's Curling Cup (Russian: Кубок России среди мужских команд 2020) was held from October 6 to 12, 2020 at the Palace of Figure Skating and Curling (Russian: Дворец фигурного катания и кёрлинга МУ СК «Дмитров») in Dmitrov, Moscow Oblast.


2020 Russian Men's Curling Cup, Round robin results
Points: 2 for win, 1 for loss, 0 for technical loss (did not start)


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown
On 9 November 2020, a Russian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter (NATO reporting name "Hind") was shot down by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. It was shot down near Yeraskh, in Armenia, a few kilometers away from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as a result of fire from the ground from MANPADS. Two of the crew members died, while another was injured as a result of the attack. Azerbaijani authorities soon issued a statement of apology, saying that the shootdown happened by mistake and offered compensation.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Events, Background
The shootdown occurred during a war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is de facto controlled by the self-proclaimed and unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, which is supported by its ally, Armenia, but is de jure part of Azerbaijan. On 8 November 2020, the Azerbaijani forces seized control of Shusha, after a four-day long battle over the city.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Events, Shootdown
The shootdown took place on 9 November 2020, near Yeraskh, in Armenia, few kilometers away from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and some 70 kilometres (43 mi) from the border to Nagorno-Karabakh, as a result of fire from the ground from MANPADS. The helicopter was accompanying the convoy of the Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri. Soon after, Azerbaijan took responsibility for the attack, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that the shootdown happened by accident, expressing apologies to Russia and readiness to pay compensation.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Events, Shootdown
According to Azerbaijan, the Russian helicopter flew in the dark, at low altitude and outside the detection zone of the Azerbaijani air defense radars. Also, Azerbaijani authorities stated that the helicopter flew in close proximity to the Armenia–Azerbaijan border during a time of conflict and that the Russian helicopters were not previously seen in the area.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Aftermath, Investigation
Russia's military base in Armenia and Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan started an investigation on the incident. On 4 January 2021, military investigators announced that they are treating the incident as 'wilful murder," rather than the previous "death through negligence."


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Aftermath, Ceasefire agreement
The incidence occurred the day when the ceasefire agreement was signed. According to Anton Troianovski and Carlotta Gall of The New York Times, this potentially gave Russia a reason to intervene in the war. However, what role, if any, the shooting down of the Mi-24 contributed to the signing of the ceasefire agreement remains unclear. Russian president Vladimir Putin delivered an ultimatum to the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev. According to Troianovski and Gall, in this ultimatum, Russia stated that if Azerbaijan did not cease its operations after seizing control of Shusha, it will intervene.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Aftermath, Ceasefire agreement
The same night, an unknown missile hit an open area in Khyrdalan, near Baku, without causing any injuries, according to the Azerbaijani sources. Also, yet again on the same day, a video emerged on social media apparently showing Armenian forces launching a Russian-made Iskander missile into Azerbaijan. The former Head of the Military Control Service of the Armenian MoD Movses Hakobyan, before resigning from his post on 19 November 2020, confirmed the use of a Iskander missile on Azerbaijan by Armenia, though he did not say where the missile hit.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Reactions, Involved parties
Soon after the shootdown, Azerbaijan's Minister of Defence, Zakir Hasanov, sent a letter of condolences to Russia's Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoygu. Also, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they positively assessed Azerbaijan immediately taking responsibility of the incident. Russian President Vladimir Putin later awarded the servicemen on the helicopter with the Order of Courage.


2020 Russian Mil Mi-24 shootdown, Reactions, International
On 9 November, CSTO, which Russia is a member of, issued a statement, expressing its concerns over the shootdown. On 18 November, the President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, signed a decree on awarding the Russian pilots with For Military Merit Medal. On 12 December, the Armenian government unveiled a temporary memorial plaque in Yeraskh to commemorate the Russian pilots killed in the shootdown, and a prayer service was held in the area.


2020 Russian Mixed Curling Championship
The 2020 Russian Mixed Curling Championship (Russian: Чемпионат России по кёрлингу среди смешанных команд 2020) were held from September 5 to 11 at the Palace of figure skating and curling (Russian: Дворец фигурного катания и кёрлинга МУ СК «Дмитров») in Dmitrov, Moscow Oblast.


2020 Russian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship
The 2020 Russian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship (Russian: Чемпионат России по кёрлингу среди смешанных пар 2020) was held in Krasnoyarsk at the Crystal Ice Arena from February 24 to March 1, 2020.


2020 Russian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship
The championship was won (third time in a row) by team "Moscow Oblast 1" (Anastasia Moskaleva / Alexander Eremin), who beat team "Saint Petersburg 3" (Alina Kovaleva / Alexey Timofeev) in the final. The Bronze medal was won by team "Moscow Oblast 2" (Daria Styoksova / Mikhail Vaskov).


2020 Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships
The Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships 2020 (also known as the Russian Nationals 2020) was held in Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast by the Russian Wrestling Federation at the Naro-Fominsk ice place arena between 16 October to 18 October 2020.


2020 Russian Super Cup
The 2020 Russian Super Cup (Russian: Суперкубок России) was the 18th annual Russian Super Cup match which was contested between 2019–20 Premier League champions and Cup winners Zenit Saint Petersburg against the Premier League runners-up, Lokomotiv Moscow. The final was played at VEB Arena. Attendance was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia.


2020 Russian Super Cup, Match details
Assistant referees:Roman Usachyov Aleksei VorontsovFourth official:  Pavel KukuyanVideo assistant referee: Vitali Meshkov


2020 Russian Wheelchair Curling Championship
The 2020 Russian Wheelchair Curling Championship (Russian: Чемпионат России по кёрлингу на колясках 2020) was held from March 16 to 23 at the Curling club "Pingvin" in Novosibirsk.


2020 Russian Women's Curling Cup
The 2020 Russian Women's Curling Cup (Russian: Кубок России среди женских команд 2020) was held from September 30 to October 6, 2020 at the Palace of Figure Skating and Curling (Russian: Дворец фигурного катания и кёрлинга МУ СК «Дмитров») in Dmitrov, Moscow Oblast.


2020 Russian Women's Curling Cup, Round Robin Results
Points: 2 for win, 1 for loss, 0 for technical loss (did not start)


2020 Russian Women's Football Championship
The 2020 Russian Women's Football Championship was the 29th season of the Russian women's football top-level league. CSKA Moscow were the defending champions.


2020 Russian Women's Football Championship
The tournament was supposed to start on March 29, but on March 17, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RFU decided to suspend all competitions under its auspices (include the Russian women's championship). The season was delayed until August 1, 2020.


2020 Russian Women's World Qualification Event
The 2020 Russian Women's World Qualification Event was held from February 14 to 16 in Sochi, Russia at the Ice Cube Curling Center. The event was used to select the team that was supposed to represent Russia at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship at the CN Centre in Prince George, British Columbia. However, the World Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Russian Women's World Qualification Event
Two teams were selected to compete in the event: Team Alina Kovaleva from Saint Petersburg and Team Anna Sidorova (team of various clubs). The competition was held in a best of seven series with a team needing to win four matches to win. The Alina Kovaleva rink won the series 4–1 over the Sidorova rink. The games were broadcast on Russian Curling TV's YouTube Channel. The commentator of the series of qualifying matches was two-time world champion (in mixed doubles and mixed teams) Anastasia Bryzgalova.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Russia between 25 June and 1 July 2020. President Vladimir Putin proposed the referendum during his address to the Federal Assembly on 15 January 2020. The draft amendments to the constitution were submitted to a referendum in accordance with article 2 of the Law on Amendments to the Constitution. The referendum is legally referred to as an "All-Russian vote" (Russian: общероссийское голосование, romanized: obshcherossiyskoye golosovaniye), for it is not held in accordance with the Federal Constitutional Law on the Referendum.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum
The amendments include sweeping changes to the constitution, including allowing Putin to run again for two more six-year presidential terms and enshrining social measures on pensions and welfare state as well as conservative ones such as constitutionally banning same-sex marriage, ensuring patriotic education in schools, and placing the constitution above international law.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum
Originally scheduled for 22 April 2020, the vote was postponed to a later date due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. It had been noted that the initial vote date coincided with the 150th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's birth. In-person voting at the polling stations was held from 25 June to 1 July, with 1 July being declared a day off as the actual voting date. Residents of Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast could participate in the event remotely (electronically) from 25 to 30 June.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum
According to official results, 79% of valid votes supported the changes to the constitution. There have been allegations and reports of irregularities, including voter coercion, multiple voting, violation of secrecy of the vote and allegations of police violence against a journalist who was present to observe.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
On 19 December 2019, Vladimir Putin announced possible amendments to the Constitution during a press conference. The following month, he repeated his intention to amend the constitution when he addressed the Federal Assembly.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
Among notable changes were the right of the president to remove federal justices, to remove Supreme Justices following approval by the Federation Council, a right for the lower house of the Parliament to appoint the prime minister and the "supremacy of Russian law over international law". It also extended presidential term limits, enabling Putin, if reelected, to hold presidential office until 2036. The previous version of the constitution would have required him to step down in 2024; this move has been labelled a "power grab" by some commentators. The extension to term limits allows Putin (and former President Medvedev) to run for two further six-year presidential terms, something Putin has not yet ruled out. Critics have accused him of plotting to stay in power for life, while supporters have lauded the inclusion of the amendment.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
Putin ordered the creation of a working group of 75 people to work on drafting proposed amendments.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
The amendments stipulate social guarantees for citizens. The amendments mention, for the first time in the constitution: marriage – defined as the union of a man and a woman, faith in God, as well as the State Council (which increases its role). The Russian nationality will be called a state-forming one. The institution of the presidency will be strengthened. The word "consecutive" will be removed from the clause which limits the term of ruling the country to "two consecutive terms". The amendments also stipulate the right of the Constitutional Court to block the implementation of decisions of international organizations on the grounds of the unconstitutionality of such decisions (the body has had this power since 2015).


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments, List
On 20 January 2020, President Vladimir Putin submitted the draft amendments to the State Duma, expecting 14 articles to be changed in total:


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed adoption without a referendum
The Constitution of the Russian Federation was accepted on the national vote on 12 December 1993 and consists of nine chapters. The order of revision of Chapters 1, 2 and 9 is prescribed in Article 135 of the Constitution and requires the convening of the Constitutional Assembly for the adoption of the new Constitution.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed adoption without a referendum
The procedure for amending Chapters 3 to 8 is defined in Article 136 and requires the adoption of the law on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation according to a procedure similar to (but not identical due to the requirement of ratification of the amendment by regional legislative bodies) the adoption of a federal constitutional law.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed adoption without a referendum
Several amendments have been made to the Constitution since its enactment. The largest were the amendments proposed in the 2008 Presidential message. Other amendments included an amendment to merge the Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts, as well as the amendment to appoint an additional group of Federation Council members ("representatives of the Russian Federation") by the President. The Constitution was also amended in connection with the formation or liquidation of the Federation's constituent entities, as well as with their renaming.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed adoption without a referendum
Putin noted that Russia's parliament is legally capable of changing the Constitution, but he argued that a national vote is necessary to make the amendments legitimate. While Putin said the package of amendments should be put to a nationwide vote, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the vote does not entail a referendum. On 20 January 2020, Putin submitted a bill on constitutional amendments to the State Duma (the lower house of parliament). The amendment of the Constitution proposed by Putin requires neither a referendum, nor convening of the Russian Constitutional Assembly.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
The current Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by "nationwide voting" on 12 December 1993. This is an official term with legal meaning. Amendments or a new constitution can be also adopted by "nationwide voting".


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
Конституция Российской Федерации вступает в силу со дня официального ее опубликования по результатам всенародного голосования.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
The Constitution of the Russian Federation shall come into force from the moment of its official publication according to the results of a nationwide voting.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
Высшим непосредственным выражением власти народа являются референдум и свободные выборы.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
The supreme direct expression of the power of the people shall be referendum and free elections.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
Therefore, "referendum" (Russian: референдум, romanized: referendum), "free elections" (Russian: свободные выборы, romanized: svobodnyye vybory) and "nationwide voting" (Russian: всенародное голосование, romanized: vsenarodnoye golosovaniye) are provisioned by the Constitution. A 50%+ turnout is mandatory for "nationwide voting" according to the Article 135 of the 1993 Constitution of Russia.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Terminology
The Federal Constitutional Law on the Referendum was adopted in 1995. A period of campaign, 50%+ turnout and international democratic electoral standards are mandatory for a referendum. The results of a referendum are binding and can't be changed unless a new referendum is held. A consultative referendum is not provide for in Russia.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, Discussion
On the other hand, Putin's statement that a “final decision” will be made only after the voting process can be interpreted to mean that the vote itself will not be binding. According to the Constitution, however, that is not the case: The results of a nationwide vote must be enforced as is. This means that a referendum would be conducted as an extra constitutional procedure (much like an online poll). Critics have accused Putin of orchestrating a "constitutional coup" and seeking to fast-track changes to the country's political system without going through proper procedures including a referendum.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Proposed consultative All-Russia voting, All-Russian voting
The renewal of the Constitution requires neither a referendum, nor convening of the Constitutional Assembly, but "All-Russian voting" (Russian: общероссийское голосование, romanized: obshcherossiyskoye golosovaniye) is provisioned by Article 2 of the draft law on making amendments to the Russian Constitution. Putin introduced this term for the first time and it is not a legal term with clear definition. All-Russian voting is not provisioned by the constitution or mentioned in any federal laws, regional laws or any other legal documents.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, measures to prevent the spread of the disease were taken on the recommendation of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor). These measures include extending the voting period to five days, screening for fever with a thermometer at the entrance to polling stations, providing polling station workers with personal protective equipment and encouraging social distancing.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
Also, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) meeting on 2 June came up with several voting options: outside the Precinct Electoral Committee (PEC) tied to the registration address through the Mobile Voter scheme; outside the polling station (in the adjacent territories), as well as contactless voting from home. Within the framework of this plebiscite, no valid reason is needed for voting from home, and the PEC agrees with the voter on the preferred time. These voting options are available not only on 1 July, but also from 25 to 30 June.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
Application submission is open until 21 June, for this purpose one should submit an application (including one over the phone) to vote at the preferred location – to the Territorial Election Commission (TEC), PEC, Multifunctional Centre for Public Services (MFC) or through the State Services (Gosuslugi) portal. There are also safety measures for those who vote from home: commission members and observers will not enter apartment or houses. They will be wearing personal protective equipment and also they will have to provide a voter with a kit with a mask, gloves, a pen and a sanitizer.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
Remote electronic voting (REV), which was made available in the regions of Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, was  first tested in the Moscow City Duma elections in 2019. Application submission was made open until 2 pm. on 21 June. The voting went from the morning of 25 June until the end of the day on 30 June. The voters who have registered on the portals mos.ru and gosuslugi.ru after 5 June will not be able to take part in electronic voting in order to avoid "rigged" voting.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
Only those users who have successfully passed the check and matching against the data in the State Automates System "Elections" will be allowed to vote. Accounts with recently changed phone numbers will be blocked as well. A unified portal 2020og.ru and a special territorial commission have been created for remote electronic voting.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
Special voting mode will be chosen at voting sites abroad. Each embassy and consulate will determine on its own if it is possible to arrange voting until 1 July.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Voting procedure
Three categories of participants can observe and control the voting: members of the commission with the casting vote, observers and media representatives. The precinct commissions are formed in advance, observers can be sent to the all-Russian voting by the regional public chambers according to the applications submitted in advance, and the representatives of mass media must have an agreement with the editorial board concluded not later than two months before the voting appointment. It is stated that at the preliminary voting stage the CEC will publish daily data on the turnout, and the votes for and against will be counted only after the end of the voting on 1 July.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
Opposition movements, parties and politicians took a different attitude towards voting.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
As there is no minimum voter turn-out, the amendments will be considered approved and enacted if the majority of the actual voters agree with the changes. However, in order to demonstrate strong management skills, local authorities and state-funded organizations are using traditional tactics to increase voter participation and encouraging people to vote online and ahead-of-schedule.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
The law that regulates nationwide voting does not mention any political agitation. Government authority has the right to inform the public, and the election committee is obliged to do so.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
The Opposition movement, various parties and politicians have different opinions regarding the voting: some are in its favor, some are against it (such as Open Russia and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation), some have chosen to boycott the referendum (such as the Left Front, Yabloko, and PARNAS). According to political analyst Alexander Pozhalov and founder of Yabloko Grigory Yavlinsky, voting on the amendments will essentially become a referendum on Putin's support, and according to Yavlinsky it opens the way to his lifelong rule.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
On 4 June, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov called on his supporters to vote against the amendments. He said that "the new version of the Basic Law only strengthens the presidential dictatorship and consolidates oligarchic domination" in a statement. Furthermore, he said that the "July 1 vote is more of a ritual in nature. It does not have the status of a referendum, does not fit with the electoral law. All this once again exposes the falsity of bourgeois democracy." Zyuganov also said that the CEC organises the vote in "a legally dubious procedure" and that "there are unlimited possibilities for fraud." He said that a boycott of the vote would not do anything and that active participation is required.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
A number of Russian celebrities were among the supporters of a 'yes' vote, who were sharing posts and video clips on social media. Those who have expressed their solidarity with the amendments over Instagram are mainly the ones who are promoting the online-voting. Among them are names such as Evgeni Plushenko and his wife Yana Rudkovskaya, TV hosts Olga Buzova and Kseniya Borodina, and singers Stas Mikhailov and Keti Topuria.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
Various political and public figures have started the campaign “NET!” ("No!") against the constitutional amendments. Political activist Maksim Katz has been leading the campaign and strongly encouraging the voters to participate. The politician and founder of the Anti- Corruption Foundation, Alexei Navalny, called for a boycott of the referendum. Journalist Yury Dud voiced his opposition against the amendments, reminding the public that in 2008 the current president was against changing the Constitution as well.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
On 28 February, the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia Ella Pamfilova announced the abolition of the scientific and expert council at the commission, explaining this with its "absolutely unacceptable" form and "absolute anachronism". According to RBK, shortly before this, a number of board members wrote a letter criticizing the upcoming vote.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Campaign
Former board member and editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy radio station Alexei Venediktov publicly opposed expanding opportunities for early and home-based voting because of the inability to observe the process, which in his opinion could lead to a "discrediting of voting results", and linked the dissolution of the council with the negative attitude of its members towards the upcoming vote.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Opinion polls
The survey results show a large variation in turnout forecasts and the final decision on the amendments. The experts attribute the difference to several factors: the peculiarities of the questions' wording and the initial orientation towards different audiences. A part of the population expresses distrust in the polling data – a long-term trend towards a decrease in trust in the data of opinion polls. Nevertheless, the last poll of 15 June by state-run VTsIOM recorded that 83% of respondents knew the date of the all-Russian vote, 68% of respondents expressed their intention to vote, 17% did not plan to vote.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Results, By federal subject
The percentages below are calculated from the total of voters instead of the total of valid votes. The difference from 100 % thus consist of blank and invalid votes.


2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Results, Results in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug
The Nenets Autonomous Okrug was the only subject of the federation where the majority of citizens (55%) voted 'No'.