Russia begins wartime parliamentary election to cement Kremlin control

What is happening?

Voting began across Russia on Friday for a three-day parliamentary election designed to formalise the Kremlin's total political dominance. The vote, which runs until Sunday, is the first legislative election since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

With almost all genuine opposition candidates barred, imprisoned, or forced to flee, the ruling United Russia party is guaranteed to retain its overwhelming majority in the 450-seat State Duma.

President Vladimir Putin, who state media reported cast his own ballot online on Friday, framed the vote as a test of wartime patriotism. In a pre-election address, he told the country that their votes would "demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters".

How has the war disrupted the voting?

Despite the Kremlin's efforts to project an image of stability, the war repeatedly broke through the security cordon. In the Black Sea resort of Sochi, polling stations were briefly closed due to the threat of Ukrainian drone strikes. In the Krasnodar region, a drone shattered the windows of a polling station, forcing officials to relocate the venue, according to Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova.

The disruption extended into occupied Ukrainian territories where Russia is also staging the vote. In the Luhansk region, Pamfilova said 14 polling stations were forced to run on backup generators after Ukrainian drones knocked out power lines. Earlier in the week, Russian officials claimed Ukrainian attacks killed one polling station chief and wounded another in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The voting in these occupied areas has been heavily militarised. In the Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots into boxes while an armed Russian soldier stood over them.

What is the international reaction?

The government in Kyiv denounced the elections in the occupied territories as entirely illegal. Ukrainian authorities warned citizens that assisting in organising the vote could lead to criminal prosecution.

The European Union also condemned the election. European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand called the voting in occupied territories a "blatant violation of international law" and stated that the EU would never recognise the results. He added that the Kremlin's grip on the process "deprives voters in Russia of a genuine choice" and pointed out that Moscow had refused to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

What do Russian voters say?

Inside Russia, the public mood is a mix of compliance, anxiety, and quiet desire for change. Pensioner Galina Vavilova, speaking at a Moscow polling station, said that ending the war is the most important issue. "Everyone wants peace; that’s what it comes down to," she said. Another pensioner, Lyudmila Kalinina, said she hoped for an end to the "big divide between the ultra-rich and the extremely poor".

Some voters still hoped for a different political path altogether. Dmitry Kirillin said in Moscow that he would like "to see some changes" and a different party in charge. However, voters have no organised way to express that desire. The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political group that openly criticised the war, was removed from the ballot by Russia’s Supreme Court last month.