What Russians really think about Putin’s sham election

Russians are gearing up for an election that few believe will make any difference in their country. Even so, it offers a rare opportunity to send a message to Vladimir Putin. From Friday to Sunday, Russia will hold its first State Duma elections since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin is making certain that Putin’s United Russia party keeps its parliamentary majority – by banning opposition parties and finding other ways to influence the vote count. Still, some ordinary Russians are looking at ways to show their displeasure. Shorts Arkady*, an 80-year-old from Yekaterinburg, hasn’t read United Russia’s manifesto and isn’t planning to. “I have lived under Stalin, another despot, but today we live in uniquely amoral times,” he tells The i Paper. “Concepts like conscience or ethics have become obsolete. It feels like I live behind enemy lines.” Even so, he and his wife are still planning to vote in the election, having always done so. “I despise this circus. We will probably spoil the ballot. We still have values and we do care, even if the government does not give a damn about us.” A few hours’ drive from Yekaterinburg, another family is spending the weekend at their home in the countryside. “We will vote because it is our duty,” says Vera*. “We have not decided yet, but we’ll either spoil the ballots or will vote tactically against United Russia.” She adds: “I have no desire to vote for the Communist Party, but we have to do something.” A billboard in Moscow featuring candidates of the ruling United Russia Party running in the upcoming election. Putin’s government has done everything it can to stack the voting in its favour, say experts (Photo: Elena Romanova/Getty) Putin’s United Russia party is campaigning on delivering prosperity, greatness and national security to Russia. “To achieve this, we must win!” says the opening paragraph of its manifesto. Yet for many Russians, Ukrainian drone strikes are stretching the credibility of that message. Putin has tried to keep his war at a distance from ordinary civilians, but in recent months Ukraine has brought it directly to Russia, destroying e-commerce warehouses and oil facilities well inside the country and causing real economic pain. Drivers now have to wait hours to try to get their hands on petrol, while rumours of force mobilisation after the election is causing anxiety. Like many who do not support the regime, or its foreign policy, Vera and her husband Misha, both in their late forties, have chosen “inner immigration”. They spend their weekends at their dacha, enjoying the sauna they built themselves and tending to their garden, far from the war. While she doesn’t agree with Putin, Vera also has little time for opposition politicians or activists living abroad. Asked about Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, and her push to encourage Russians opposed to Putin to vote for whoever is the strongest candidate in their local area who could beat United Russia, Vera says: “Yulia Navalnaya, Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza cannot do anything for us. I used to read and listen to Ekaterina Schulmann [a political scientist now based in Berlin], but I gave up some time ago – what is the point?” Alexei Navalny’s grave in Moscow. The West holds the Kremlin responsible for the popular Russian opposition leader’s death inside an Arctic prison in 2024 (Photo: Hector Retamal/AFP) Navalnaya, who now lives in exile, uses her Instagram channel to share letters from people still in Russia. A recent post was from a woman who works at a preschool and said her supervisor told all employees to take photos of their completed voting forms. Another woman said she had started a job at a mayor’s office where employees had to register on United Russia’s website and choose a candidate they would be voting for in September. They also had to convince at least one friend or family member to vote for United Russia. Fyodor Krasheninnikov, a political analyst, says Putin’s government has done everything it can to stack the voting in its favour. Parliamentary elections used to be held in December, before being moved to September in 2016 to dampen turnout, with many people going to the countryside when the weather is good. Voter turnout in 2016 was around 47.8 per cent, down from 60.2 per cent in 2011, though other factors may have contributed to that. Meanwhile, “the government relies on the government sector employees, teachers and doctors to ensure that United Russia gets the votes”, Krasheninnikov tells The i Paper. “Ultimately, these elections are nothing more than a ritual. The Kremlin will go through the motions and confirm United Russia’s majority.” This has left many in Russia disengaged. Kostya*, who works in Yekaterinburg, says the upcoming elections are the least of his concerns. “A week ago, I spent five hours in a queue to get petrol, that is what people care about,” he tells The i Paper. “And guess what – Putin was scheduled to visit the city and suddenly petrol gets delivered – no more queues!” Supporters of Russia’s liberal Yabloko party protest outside the Supreme Court in Moscow in August 2026. The party’s candidates have been barred from contesting the upcoming elections (Photo: Igor Ivanko/Getty) Others see little point in voting when they already know the outcome. Vitaly*, who recently became a grandfather, says the court case against Yabloko – the only party campaigning against the war – cemented this for him. Prosecutors accused the party of copyright infringement and other crimes. The Supreme Court found it guilty and barred its members from standing in the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, supporters who gathered outside the court were later arrested for holding an “unauthorised rally”. At least two activists, Daria Bunkova and Nabi Balabekov, spent a fortnight in a detention centre and have now fled the country. “I’m surprised they were allowed to stand in the first place,” Vitaly says. He hasn’t decided if he’s going to vote. “Ultimately, what is the point? United Russia will get the overwhelming majority – not that I would vote for them.” Back in her dacha, Vera sums up the overall mood: “No one talks about elections – the case is closed.” *Some names have been changed or only first names used