Russians Vote In State Duma Election As United Russia Backs Vladimir Putin And War In Ukraine

Russians began voting Friday to Sunday to elect members of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, in the first parliamentary election held since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Russians head to the polls from Friday to Sunday to elect members of the State Duma”

Al Jazeera

The vote is expected to again leave a Parliament controlled by United Russia, the ruling party that backs President Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin is using the election to claim that the majority of Russians support the president and the war.

ABC News

Voting runs over three days to boost turnout among the 111 million eligible voters and includes areas Russia occupies in Ukraine, with electronic voting allowed.

In the Kremlin’s framing, the process is meant to show “We have our own political system, our own political process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, while critics argue the result is largely settled in advance because there is no genuine opposition on the ballot.

The BBC also notes that for the Kremlin the election of 450 deputies to the Duma matters as a way to boost political careers of soldiers returning from Ukraine, with authorities saying nearly 200 war veterans are participating in the elections.B

The election campaign has offered a glimpse of Russian society, but CNN describes a televised debate in Ryazan where “The candidates have not shown up at our studio, so I’ll say goodbye for now,” as three empty podiums sat beside the state TV anchor Elizaveta Dorokhina.

In the same tightly controlled environment, the BBC reports that the Kremlin will use the vote to claim majority support for the war and that “there will be no surprises for the Kremlin,” even as critics say the vote is not free or fair.B

Al Jazeera

Yabloko, Russia’s only registered political party that opposes the war, was initially on the ballot before the Supreme Court ordered it removed in August, and BBC reporting says the Kremlin does not care what critics say about the vote.B

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quotes Putin exhorting Russians to vote, saying “Your choice and your will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our troops,” in a speech released on September 16.

And in CNN’s account of the political landscape, Andrei Kolesnikov says the elections are designed to demonstrate the “majority effect,” adding that “those who oppose them are outcasts and enemies,” as the Kremlin continues to propagate the war in Ukraine.

Beyond the Duma vote, the election also includes local elections, with voters in 11 regions electing their governors and 39 regions electing members of regional legislatures, while voting is spread across three days.

“The Kremlin is watching turnout closely, and Vladimir Putin presents high turnout”

Euronews

Euronews says the Kremlin is watching turnout closely and that Vladimir Putin presents high turnout as a sign of national unity and support for the war in Ukraine, with the vote taking place in a tightly controlled political environment.

The stakes are also tied to the war’s pressure on daily life, as Business Standard describes Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries and logistical facilities and says strikes on Russian oil refineries sparked a severe fuel crisis that peaked in June and returned in August.

In the same wartime context, France 24 says the vote lasts three days and that results are considered predetermined in favor of United Russia, while also noting that voting will continue to elect the 450 members of the State Duma until 18:00 UTC on Sunday.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty adds that the Kremlin and the Presidential Administration were expected to watch results for hints of the national mood, even as the only prominent political party opposing the war was barred from the ballot weeks ahead of the vote.