Nine parties appear on Russia's State Duma ballot this week, every one of them supportive of President Vladimir Putin, as three days of voting that opened Friday extend into occupied Ukrainian territory for the first time since the 2022 invasion. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe was not invited to send observers, a breach that OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons described as showing "a worrying disregard for democratic standards."
The ballot and what's off it
Russia's Supreme Court banned the opposition Yabloko Party from September's elections ahead of the vote. Its leader, Lev Shlosberg, a critic of the war and head of one of Russia's only opposition parties, was sentenced to over 11 years in a penal colony for speaking against the military operation. The nine parties that remain are all aligned with the Kremlin, including Putin's own United Russia.
Moscow annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia shortly after the 2022 invasion. Putin signed legislation in 2023 permitting elections in those regions. Residents were required to acquire Russian passports, which is how authorities compile voter rolls. In occupied areas, election officials arrive escorted by Russian soldiers carrying ballot boxes door-to-door. Jaroslava Barbieri, a research fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, called it "direct intimidation" and "a flagrant violation of international law." The 2024 presidential elections in the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic returned votes over 90% for Putin.
Why the Kremlin runs the exercise
Ivana Stradner, who focuses on Russian information security and influence operations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Duma elections give the Kremlin a chance to manufacture the appearance of public support for continuing the war, particularly as battlefield momentum stalls and costs mount. Keti Korkiya, from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Russia Program, said Russians are willing to express symbolic support for Putin and the war but resist paying a personal or economic price, which she said explains why Russia has not ordered another wave of mobilization.
Ukraine's parliament member Volodymyr Ariev called any elections held in occupied territory illegal under international law and said Ukraine will not recognize any person elected to parliament from those regions. He urged residents to leave their homes on election day rather than face coercion at the ballot.
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 326 polling stations are set up at Russian embassies and consulates in 152 countries. Putin said in August that the elections will reaffirm Russia's stability and highlight what he called the "maturity" of its political system.
Three days of voting end September 20.