Russia will hold parliamentary elections from September 18 to 20, marking the first nationwide poll since it launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. The tightly controlled vote, with only pro-war parties allowed on the ballot, is expected to affirm support for President Vladimir Putin and his policies amid ongoing economic challenges and war weariness among some Russians. Half of the 450 seats up for grabs will be decided by a national party list vote, while the other half will come from single-member districts across Russia. Notably, no real opposition parties are permitted to participate, ensuring that Putin’s ruling United Russia party retains majority control over the State Duma.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Russia to hold tightly controlled vote in fifth year of war
AI generated
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Russia → hold → war
Russia will this week hold a tightly controlled election in a vote seen by the Kremlin as a barometer of public opinion on the war with Ukraine, which is dragging into its fifth year.
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which → hold → year
Some Russians have grown weary of economic stagnation and intensifying Ukrainian retaliatory attacks, and there are fears in some quarters that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order a mass call-up of new soldiers after the election.
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Putin → grow → election
The parliamentary vote – held from Sept 18 to 20 – will be the first since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022, and only the second nationwide poll since then, after a presidential contest that re-elected Putin in 2024.
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that → hold → 2024
Voting is also due to take place in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia’s army.
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The war has killed hundreds of thousands, brought widespread censorship at home, devastated eastern Ukraine and seen Moscow hit with unprecedented Western sanctions.
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Moscow → kill → sanctions
With Moscow having banned criticism of the war, no real opposition parties will be on the ballot, and Putin’s ruling United Russia party is assured to scoop a majority of seats in the State Duma.
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party → ban → Duma
A European diplomat told AFP that while the election was “quite a sham”, it was a “ritual the Kremlin considers essential”, and that it would be striving to “ensure a high turnout”.
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it → tell → turnout
Even if the results are “predefined”, voting still matters, exiled Russian political scientist Nikolai Petrov said.
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Petrov → predefine → ?
“Just like at the time of the Soviet Union, elections should demonstrate (the) loyalty of citizens,” he said.
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he → demonstrate → citizens
For Putin – in power for 26 years – it is important to “demonstrate to elites that he is still supported, still trusted by ordinary people”, Petrov said.
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Petrov → demonstrate → people
Half of the 450 seats up for grabs will be decided by a nationwide vote for party blocs, with the other half allocated to single-member districts across the country.
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half → decide → country
Only parties that support Putin and the war have been permitted to stand on the national ballot: the ruling United Russia party, the Communist Party, A Just Russia, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and New People.
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that → support → Russia
Russia’s sole anti-war party still active inside the country, Yabloko, was barred from standing.
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party → bar → country
“It’s a choice without a choice,” said 18-year-old Yevdokia.
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Yevdokia → ’ → choice
She had planned to vote for Yabloko, which has called for an end to fighting in Ukraine, but will now vote for New People.
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which → plan → People
The authorities have used the backdrop of the war to ramp up repression to levels unseen since the Soviet Union.
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authorities → use → Union
All of Putin’s top opponents are in jail, exile or dead – like his main challenger Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison in 2024.
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who → die → 2024
While Russia’s Parliament has seen its powers hugely reduced under Putin, legislative elections have previously been sources of tension.
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elections → see → tension
In 2011, widespread fraud and the return of Putin to the Kremlin from the role of prime minister led to Russia’s largest protests since the end of the USSR.
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fraud → lead → USSR
In Moscow, there are few signs that an election will even take place in 2026.
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election → be → 2026
Campaign posters are few and far between, save for generic ones from the authorities urging people to participate – featuring the slogan, “Your voice is Russia’s strength”.
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voice → urge → slogan
Mobilisation fears
The vote will serve as a barometer of feelings on a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and undermined the daily lives of Russians, even those living thousands of kilometres from the front.
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that → serve → front
In recent months, Kyiv has stepped up its long-range strikes on Russia – cast as fair retribution for Moscow’s own barrages – causing fuel shortages, billions of rubles in damage and killing civilians.
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Kyiv → step → civilians
Amid persistent rumours, Putin himself has been forced to deny that Moscow plans a new round of mobilisation – similar to the unpopular 2022 call-up of 300,000 reservists – after the vote.
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Moscow → force → vote
Kremlin critics, Kyiv and some Western countries have accused him of planning just that.
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critics → accuse → that
Russian expert Tatiana Stanovaya – of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre, which Moscow banned – believes a call-up is unlikely.
“They made so much effort to convince Russians not (to) worry about it...
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They → ban → it
I would be very, very surprised if it happens.”
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it → happen → ?
With his inevitable victory, Putin would instead see “confirmation of his legitimacy”, she said – “legitimacy of his war”.
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she → see → war
The Aporia
