Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has secured a record number of seats in Russia's State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament, according to preliminary results. The party won 355 out of the 450 available seats in the three-day election. Electoral chief Ella Pamfilova announced the results as nearly all votes were tallied.
The outcome, with no parties critical of President Putin participating, grants his party a super-majority exceeding its previous record set in 2016. The Kremlin has stated that the results demonstrate national unity around Putin.
This election has drawn widespread international criticism, particularly for its inclusion of voting in occupied Ukrainian territories. The United Kingdom, alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway, condemned the elections as a "sham." A statement from the UK's Foreign Office declared that holding elections in Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia is a "gross violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and independence, and the UN Charter." The statement further characterized the elections as part of a broader occupation strategy, involving the imposition of Russian administration, law, media, education, language, and citizenship, supported by coercion and repression, including reported disappearances, detentions, and torture of Ukrainian citizens. "These regions are part of Ukraine and holding sham elections cannot alter the status of these territories under international law. We continue to stand with Ukraine," the Foreign Office affirmed.
Earlier in September, Russia's only liberal and anti-war party, Yabloko, was banned by a Moscow court. The lawsuit against Yabloko was brought by the Rodina party, which accused Yabloko of supporting an extremist organization by publishing content on its website endorsing the 'international LGBT movement,' which Russia designated as extremist in 2023. Russia's financial monitoring service also alleged that Yabloko received funds through third parties from foreign countries, including Germany and the United States.
Separately, the European Union is navigating the extension of sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. France has reportedly requested the removal of oligarch Alisher Usmanov from the EU's sanctions blacklist, citing national security concerns, though specific details have not been publicly disclosed. The Financial Times has suggested this request may be linked to a potential prisoner release deal involving French nationals held in Azerbaijan.
The EU's deadline for prolonging asset freezes and visa bans on approximately 3,000 individuals and entities was pushed to Tuesday. The bloc requires unanimous agreement from all member states to extend the sanctions, a critical component of the EU's response to the war since 2022.
France and Slovakia have joined in calling for Usmanov's removal, facing opposition from more hawkish EU countries like Poland and the Baltic states. Luxembourg has also indicated that it would seek the removal of sanctions on Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman if Usmanov is delisted. A potential compromise reportedly under discussion involves removing both Usmanov and Fridman from the list while extending other sanctions for up to 36 months.
Despite the internal disagreements, EU diplomats have indicated a strong consensus against allowing the sanctions to lapse. The current blacklist includes prominent figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.