Russia’s first wartime parliamentary election was due to end Sunday, virtually devoid of opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s policies and all but certain to cement the Kremlin’s dominance.
asserted
election → end → dominance
The last day of the election came as Ukrainian forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia overnight, including hundreds that were launched toward Moscow.
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that → come → Moscow
The vote began Friday, and authorities encouraged online balloting to boost turnout among its 111 million eligible voters.
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authorities → begin → voters
For the first time, the election included residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began but still doesn’t fully control.
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war → include → that
Voting is also taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
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that → take → 2014
Authorities in Kyiv denounced the voting in the Russian-held areas as illegal and urged foreign governments not to recognize the result.
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Authorities → denounce → result
The European Union on Friday called the action a “blatant violation of international law.”
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Union → call → law
Kremlin expected to keep control
The Kremlin wants the parliamentary election — the first since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — to showcase popular support for the war and legitimize its action.
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election → expect → action
It has sought to avoid political risks by stamping out any dissent.
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It → seek → dissent
A massive state media campaign and tight control over the election in the absence of genuine opposition all but assure the Kremlin will keep tight control of Russian politics amid mounting economic costs and increasing Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside the country.
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Kremlin → assure → country
Voters cast two separate ballots, filling half of the Duma’s 450 seats by selecting political parties listed on the ballot.
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Voters → cast → ballot
The rest are contested in single-seat constituencies, with voters choosing individual candidates.
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voters → contest → candidates
Preliminary results are expected within hours of voting ending in the country’s west.
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voting → expect → west
The main Kremlin party, United Russia, is widely expected to retain its overwhelming control of the lower house, the State Duma.
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party → expect → house
Several smaller parties of the “systemic opposition” that vote in sync with Putin’s views on all key issues also are expected to maintain their presence.
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that → vote → presence
Opposition sidelined as observers report violations
The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to publicly criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races.
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that → sideline → races
Additionally, some anti-war politicians were imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.
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politicians → imprison → campaign
Yabloko and the Communist Party, which has criticized some aspects of government policy but carefully avoided any criticism of Putin, said many of their observers were turned away from polling stations.
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many → criticize → stations
Russia didn’t invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the Russian Foreign Ministry accusing the body of “double standards” for its criticism of Russia.
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Ministry → invite → Russia
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons said that the decision was a breach of Russia’s commitments as a member state of the organization.
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decision → say → organization
Yabloko reported that one of its observers lost consciousness while being arrested by police at a St. Petersburg polling station on Saturday, after officials accused him of trying to “disrupt the elections” and called police.
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officials → report → police
The parties reported violations including sealed ballot boxes being opened, doors to polling stations not being secured overnight, and a refusal to issue paper ballots.
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doors → report → ballots
The claims could not be independently verified.
uncertain
claims → verify → ?
At one polling station in the Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots in a box as an armed Russian soldier stood nearby and watched.
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soldier → hold → box
Issues with electronic voting in Moscow reported
Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, said Sunday that the electronic voting system had been targeted by cyberattacks in Moscow.
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system → report → Moscow
SotaVision, an independent Russian news outlet, said Sunday that voters were reporting glitches in the electronic registry systems at polling stations across Moscow.
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voters → say → Moscow
People were not issued paper ballots and instead were asked to vote via an electronic terminal, the outlet said on Telegram.
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outlet → issue → Telegram
Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, suggested the supposed breakdown of the system used to issue paper ballots in Moscow may have been deliberate, aimed at pushing voters toward electronic voting.
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breakdown → suggest → voting
“Demand a paper ballot!” he wrote on X on Sunday.
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he → demand → Sunday
Having urged supporters to spoil party-list ballots, Yabloko party leader Nikolai Rybakov cast a ballot in St. Petersburg on Sunday, covered in bright green writing declaring “For freedom,” “For peace,” and “Yabloko.”
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Rybakov → urge → peace
Russian opposition abroad holds protests
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opposition → hold → protests
Russia’s exiled opposition, including the widow of Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, called on anti-war Russians to cast their votes at noon on Sunday.
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opposition → exile → Sunday
Thousands of Russians living in Armenia took part in the vote.
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Thousands → live → vote
Russian citizens lined up outside the Russian Embassy in the capital, Yerevan, on Sunday, to join the “Noon for a Peaceful Russia” anti-war demonstration.
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citizens → line → demonstration
Some held anti-war and anti-Putin posters.
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Some → hold → posters
In Germany, voters cast their ballots at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
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voters → cast → Berlin
Andrei Pivovarov, a Russian dissident and former head of the Open Russia group, addressed a protest gathered outside the building.
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Pivovarov → address → building
Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia
The election’s last day came against a backdrop of a major wave of Ukrainian attacks.
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day → fire → attacks
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces shot down a total of 1,110 Ukrainian drones across Russia, as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.
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forces → say → Crimea
Two people were killed and 20 wounded across the wider Moscow region
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20 → kill → region
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
