Russians Begin Voting in Parliamentary Elections Amid War in Ukraine

Polling stations opened in Russia's Far East on Friday, initiating a three-day parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is widely expected to win. This marks Russia's first parliamentary election since the country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The election for the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, will continue until Sunday. Only political parties that have demonstrated support for Putin and the Kremlin's military actions in Ukraine have been registered to participate. Voting is also being conducted in occupied Ukrainian territories.

While a victory for United Russia is considered a certainty, the Kremlin may use the vote to gauge public sentiment regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has increasingly impacted ordinary Russians. The war has strained Moscow's international relations and led to extensive economic sanctions from Western nations.

In a recent development underscoring the conflict's proximity, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that Russian forces destroyed over 350 Ukrainian drones targeting the capital region between Friday evening and Saturday morning. Many were intercepted around the city's perimeter, while others were shot down closer to the city itself.

Putin, who has led Russia since 1999, has seen his United Russia party dominate the political landscape for over two decades. The current election offers little surprise due to strict Kremlin control and the exclusion of critical voices. Parties like the Communist Party, the nationalist LDPR, A Just Russia, and New People, which generally align with Putin's policies, are the primary contenders.

The opposition party Yabloko, which advocated for an end to the fighting, was disqualified shortly before the vote. One of its prominent figures, Lev Shlosberg, has been imprisoned for criticizing the war. A 20-year-old Muscovite, identified only as Apostol, expressed a common sentiment to AFP, stating he saw no reason to vote for anyone other than United Russia, as their victory was inevitable.

Political analysts suggest Putin views the election as a means to project an image of domestic support, drawing parallels to political situations in European countries. "So he can always say, look, we had an election. I benefit from such significant support of Russians," explained Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political expert based in France.

Ahead of the vote, Putin urged citizens to participate, framing it as a demonstration of solidarity with Russian troops and a unified response against those seeking to weaken Russia. The conflict's impact has been felt domestically, with Ukrainian strikes reaching deep into Russia and causing significant damage and civilian casualties.

With public protests banned and public debate suppressed, the election is seen by some as a barometer of public frustration over the protracted conflict. Many of Putin's political opponents have been exiled or silenced, including Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison in 2024.

Russia's exiled opposition has encouraged anti-Kremlin Russians to cast protest votes against Putin's party, providing recommendations on who to support regionally. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, has also called for anti-war voters to participate at a specific time on Sunday. However, some, like Yabloko's chairman Nikolay Rybakov, argue that voting legitimizes the current government and its actions.

Concerns linger about potential post-election military mobilization, reminiscent of the unpopular 2022 call-up of 300,000 reservists, which led to a significant number of draft-eligible men leaving Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Kremlin of planning further mobilization efforts this autumn, a claim that Putin has denied.