Russia votes in wartime parliamentary poll with Kremlin grip set to tighten

Russians have begun voting in a three-day parliamentary election with almost no real opposition. The poll is expected to reinforce Kremlin control while projecting support for the war in Ukraine.Russians began voting on Friday in the country’s first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in a contest with virtually no real opposition and one that is widely expected to strengthen the Kremlin’s hold on power.The voting has been spread over three days, with polls set to close on Sunday, as authorities seek to raise turnout among the 111 million eligible voters. Electronic voting has also been allowed. The Kremlin wants the election to project public backing for the war and lend legitimacy to its actions, after moving to shut down even minor signs of dissent. In a message before the vote, President Vladimir Putin said, “Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland.”The main Kremlin-backed party, United Russia, is all but certain to keep its commanding control of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. Smaller parties described as the “systemic opposition”, which back the government on all major issues, are also expected to retain their presence. Voters are casting two ballots, with half of the Duma’s 450 seats filled through party lists and the rest through single-seat constituencies where individual candidates are chosen.Russians interviewed by The Associated Press voiced differing hopes from the election. Dmitry Kirillin in Moscow said earlier this week that he would like “to see some changes. To see a different party” in charge. Another Moscow resident, Alexander Vertukhin, took the opposite view and said “what United Russia and the communists are doing is quite sufficient; their platforms cover everything.” At a polling station in Moscow on Friday, pensioner Galina Vavilova said ending the war in Ukraine “is the main thing, of course”. “That is the most important thing right now. Everyone wants peace, that’s what it comes down to. So that our guys are safe and sound,” she said. Another pensioner, Lyudmila Kalinina, said she wanted life “to stabilise for the better” and for “an end to the big divide between the ultra-rich and the extremely poor, because, after all, many people don’t live a very sweet life.” Vladimir Chubarev, a 72-year-old professor, said he hoped “for all the important initiatives our government is undertaking to succeed. And, of course, for victory.”Russia’s anti-war voices have been heavily restricted ahead of the vote. The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political group that openly criticised the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court and now has only a few dozen candidates in single-constituency races. Some anti-war politicians have also been jailed or pushed to leave the country before the campaign. The election comes after a summer in which Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on oil refineries triggered a widespread fuel crisis. Warehouses belonging to online retailers Wildberries and Ozon were also attacked. The damage added to strains on the Russian economy and brought the war closer to everyday life for millions of people.For the first time, the parliamentary election includes residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began. Voting is also being held in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Authorities in Kyiv called the voting in Russian-held areas illegal and urged foreign governments and international organisations not to recognise the election, while warning Ukrainians that helping to organise the balloting could bring criminal liability. Overall, the three-day vote is set to underline the Kremlin’s political dominance while taking place against the backdrop of war, economic strain and the near-total absence of open anti-war opposition.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 18, 2026 15:44 IST