2026 Russian State Duma elections: what the "voting" showed against the backdrop of the war
Kyiv • UNN
"United Russia" may receive 355 out of 450 seats amid the war, restrictions on the opposition, and voting in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The EU did not recognize these elections.
The three-day voting period in Russia’s elections to the State Duma of the ninth convocation has ended. These are the first parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The campaign took place amid the war, limited participation by anti-war candidates, and Russia’s organization of voting in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
For the Kremlin, it is of great importance. Russian President Vladimir Putin directly linked the vote to support for Russian military personnel, while Reuters notes that the Russian authorities may use the results as an indicator of the population’s attitude toward their policies amid the protracted war.
UNN examined the specifics of Russia’s parliamentary elections amid the war in Ukraine.
When and how Russians voted this autumn
This year’s elections to the Russian State Duma took place over three days — September 18, 19, and 20. Russia spans 11 time zones, so polling stations opened first in the Far East.
It should be noted that regional elections of various levels were held simultaneously with the State Duma elections. Thus, governors were elected in 11 regions, while deputies to regional legislative bodies were elected in 39. Therefore, without exaggeration, the September vote can be called one of the largest electoral cycles in Russia in recent years.
Another distinctive feature of the elections in the Russian Federation in autumn 2026 was the use of remote electronic voting. The federal DEG system was used in 32 regions, while Moscow used a separate electronic platform altogether. In total, residents of 33 regions were given the opportunity to vote online. Moreover, Russian and foreign media reported that Kremlin head Vladimir Putin himself also voted remotely from his office. At the same time, some critics of Russia’s electoral system question the transparency of electronic voting, while the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation rejects allegations that manipulation is possible.
Elections in Russia: how voting for the State Duma took place
To begin with, let us recall that the State Duma consists of 450 deputies, who are elected for five-year terms. Russia uses a mixed electoral system: 225 seats are distributed based on voting for federal party lists, while another 225 deputies are elected in single-member constituencies. The basic threshold for participating in the distribution of seats according to party lists is 5% of the vote.
Ten parties have access to the federal ballot. They include:
- United Russia;
- Communist Party of the Russian Federation;
- Liberal Democratic Party of Russia;
- New People;
- A Just Russia;
- Communists of Russia;
- Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice;
- Rodina;
- Party of Direct Democracy;
- Green Party.
At the same time, the federal ballot does not include the Yabloko party, which advocates ending the war. In August, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation removed its federal list from the election over alleged violations of electoral rules. The party did not accept the decision. Some of its representatives, however, remained candidates in individual single-member constituencies.
Against this backdrop, most prominent candidates with an anti-war stance were barred from participating in the nationwide campaign. In addition, some opposition politicians were deprived of the opportunity to run after being included in Russia’s register of "foreign agents." The Russian authorities, for their part, continue to insist that the electoral procedure complies with the current legislation of the Russian Federation.
Separately, in the context of Russia’s September elections, the absence of full-fledged international observation should be noted. Official Moscow did not invite OSCE observers. The organization, for its part, stated that the political environment in the Russian Federation had become more restrictive and closed compared with the previous parliamentary elections in 2021. Moreover, the country currently also lacks its own independent observers, since the Golos movement, which for many years documented violations during elections, ceased operations in 2025 after prolonged pressure from the authorities.
Party ratings ahead of the elections in Russia
According to the latest weekly poll by the state-run VTsIOM published before the election, as of September 6, 37.4% of respondents were ready to support United Russia. Some 13.1% planned to vote for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), 10.4% for New People, 9.9% for the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), and 4.5% for A Just Russia. Another 10.9% of respondents could not decide how to answer, while 8.4% said they would not take part in the election. It should be emphasized that these figures reflect the responses of survey participants, not a forecast of the distribution of parliamentary seats. The result will depend not only on voting for party lists but also on the outcomes in 225 single-member districts. In the previous election, it was precisely the victories of United Russia candidates in the districts that secured a significant share of the seats in the State Duma for the party.
Even at the beginning of the election, international political scientists predicted that United Russia would remain the dominant force on the country's political scene. Other parliamentary parties, including the CPRF and the LDPR, supported the Russian authorities' key decisions regarding the war. Under such conditions, the support figures for the main parties cannot be viewed separately from the structure of Russia's political system and the limited representation of anti-war forces.
What the results of the "expression of will" in the russian federation in September 2026 showed
As of September 21, the russian federation's ruling party, United Russia, is receiving 57.83% of the vote and could obtain 355 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. These figures were released by the Central Election Commission of the russian federation after more than 95% of the votes had been counted. The pro-government party retained a constitutional majority in the lower house of the Russian parliament. The CPRF is in second place with 13.81% of the vote. The LDPR is receiving 8.98%, while New People has 7.96%. At the time of counting, A Just Russia was slightly below the 5% threshold.
However, in addition to voting for party lists, half of the State Duma's membership is elected in single-member districts. According to the Associated Press, United Russia candidates were leading in 208 of the 225 such districts. The Central Election Commission's preliminary forecast provides for a total of 355 parliamentary seats for the party.
How the international community reacted to the "election" in russia
The European Union has already stated that it will recognize neither the holding of the vote in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine nor its results. The EU stressed that organizing such an "expression of will" violates international law, as well as Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The EU also drew attention to the absence of OSCE observers and restrictions on the participation of opposition forces in the election. In particular, the Yabloko party, which took an anti-war position, was barred from participating in the election on the federal list.
Elections in russia amid the war against Ukraine
The war became one of the main political contexts of the autumn election campaign in russia. Ahead of the opening of polling stations, head of state vladimir putin said that "the citizens' choice should demonstrate support for Russian military personnel and show the unity of the country."
At the same time, the vote took place against the backdrop of increasingly visible consequences of the war for the Russian economy: high interest rates, a labor shortage, the impact of Western sanctions, as well as fuel shortages following Ukrainian attacks on oil-refining enterprises.
russia did not shy away from holding so-called "elections" in the occupied territories of Ukraine as well. Official moscow included occupied Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the seized parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, in the electoral process. In addition, Reuters reported that voting began early in some occupied areas.
The Central Election Commission of Ukraine, for its part, stated that holding Russian elections on Ukrainian territory is illegitimate and creates no legal consequences whatsoever. According to Ukraine's Central Election Commission, russia illegally established 11 single-member electoral districts in the occupied territories. The commission regards the use of electoral procedures as part of the russian federation's attempts to legitimize the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
Summing up the parliamentary race in Russia in the autumn of 2026, political scientists are almost unanimous on several conclusions. First, this year’s voting took place in a fundamentally different environment than the previous campaign in 2021. Second, the war against Ukraine became part of the pre-election rhetoric, anti-war representation in the federal campaign was significantly restricted, independent monitoring was curtailed, and Russia extended the voting to the occupied Ukrainian territories. Formally, the elections are intended to determine the composition of the State Duma for the next five years. However, the political significance of the campaign is broader: the Kremlin may use its results as confirmation of public support for its course, including its policy regarding the war. At the same time, the nature of the campaign itself and the restrictions on political competition raise significant reservations about the extent to which the voting results can reflect the full spectrum of public sentiment in Russia.