Elections in Russia: between the dominance of United Russia, the new contested regions and the exclusion of the opposition

Yer (United Russia) should retain the greatest number of seats, which - we read in August in the opposition newspaper Meduza - could end up with around 55% of the preferences. Other sources put it at around 46%. In both cases it would be the leading political force, albeit decreasing compared to now (316 seats). YER is the party closest to President Vladimir Putin. Even if he is not formally part of it, he is considered its expression in the Duma. Among the main groups in the running there is also the Kprf (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), which should confirm itself as the second party, followed by Ldpr (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), New People and SRzp (Just Russia - For the Truth). More or less, they are all considered close to the Kremlin, in a vote that - once again - is considered a farce by many.

“Your choice will demonstrate once again that millions of people are at the side of our fighters, that we are a united people, united by shared values, historical memory and love for the homeland, and that no one will be able to divide and intimidate us,” Putin said in his speech before the elections, which has now become a tradition. However, there is great news in this round: for the first time, he underlined, there will also be voting in what Moscow calls its "new regions", i.e. the four partially occupied by Russian troops in Ukraine and unilaterally annexed by the Russian Federation after referendums held in September four years ago. "Our great country is going through a significant electoral campaign, in many ways decisive", he said, underlining that participation in the elections is a contribution to the victory of the troops in the field and saying he is convinced that true patriots will emerge from the polls. "This - he added - will be our common response to those who want to weaken Russia, slow down its development and deprive us of our sovereignty and the right to independently determine our destiny". "Our heroes are forging victory on the battlefield," Putin said again, but victory is "approached by all those who honestly work for the Motherland and understand their responsibility for its future."

Nothing can be done for Yabloko, despite the appeal lodged against his exclusion from the elections. To attack the party, which allegedly ran with the slogan "For peace and freedom", various accusations were made, from "LGBTQ propaganda" to alleged funding received from abroad, as well as alleged violations of copyright: the opposition party allegedly did not obtain the consent of the copyright holders to use a phrase taken from a theatrical work and illegally published on its website the emblems of other parties, images of former president Dmitry Medvedev and blogger Victoria Bonya, as well as stills from the film War and Peace 1967.

In June, Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky court sentenced Yabloko vice-president Maksim Kruglov to seven years in prison, finding him guilty of spreading information about the armed forces that authorities deemed false. According to investigators, in April 2022 Kruglov deliberately published untrue information on a Telegram channel regarding the actions of the Russian army against Ukrainian civilians. He was arrested in October 2025. Kruglov led the Yabloko group in the Moscow City Duma from 2019 to 2024, and then served as vice president from December 2023. In August, a judge in the Pskov region also sentenced Lev Shlosberg, another Yabloko vice president, to 11 years and one month in prison for "discrediting" and spreading "fake news" about the Russian military.

The eyes of the OECD are focused on the elections in Russia, which criticizes the Russian Federation's decision not to invite its observers to verify the legitimacy of the voting operations. “It is of serious concern and further demonstrates a pattern of disregard for commitments made by all OSCE participating States,” the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said. The Russian Federation had not invited observers even for the 2021 elections or the 2024 presidential elections.

Of the 450 deputies of the Duma, 225 are elected according to a closed party list proportional system, within a single national constituency with a threshold of 5%. In this case the candidates can only be nominated by the parties. The seats are then divided following the Hare method. The other 225 are elected with a dry majority system in single-member constituencies and the participation of independent candidates is permitted. To participate in the elections, however, you need to collect 3% of the signatures of voters residing in your constituency or 3 thousand signatures if the constituency has fewer than 100 thousand citizens. The Duma is renewed every five years.