Two independent exit polls covering 27 countries put New People first with around 45% and United Russia as low as 2.8%, the reverse of official results inside Russia, where Putin's party took nearly 58%.
asserted
party → cover → %
Exit poll organisers said the gap "destroys the image of supposed support for the authorities."
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gap → say → authorities
Russians voting at embassies and consulates abroad backed the liberal New People party over Vladimir Putin's United Russia by a margin of eight to one, according to two independent exit polls conducted during this weekend's State Duma elections — the reverse of official results from inside Russia, where Putin's party took nearly 58% of the vote.
uncertain
party → vote → vote
The Vote Abroad project, which surveyed almost 15,700 voters at 27 polling stations across 22 countries, put New People at 43%, the Communist Party at 18.3% and United Russia at 5.5%.
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which → survey → %
In 10 countries, including Armenia, Germany and Finland, United Russia failed to clear the 5% threshold required to win Duma seats.
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Russia → include → seats
A separate exit poll by opposition movement Vesna and the Progress project, covering 18 stations in 17 countries, put New People first at every location with 47.3%, the Communist Party second at 19.2% and United Russia at 2.8%.
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Russia → cover → %
Inside Russia, the Central Election Commission reported United Russia winning nearly 58%, the Communist Party at 14%, the LDPR at almost 9% and New People below 8%.
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Russia → report → %
"The contrast is indeed very stark," Ivan Zhdanov, director of the Progress project and a former head of Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told Euronews.
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Zhdanov → tell → Euronews
"83.5% of those who answered our question on trust do not fully or mostly trust the official results," Zhdanov added.
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Zhdanov → answer → results
"In purely arithmetic terms, votes cast abroad are hardly going to determine the composition of the Duma," he said.
"
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he → cast → Duma
But they are important: they show a completely different reality and destroy the image of supposed support for the authorities."
Many Russians who left the country after the 2022 invasion oppose the war, and the only anti-war party Yabloko was barred from the election on a procedural pretext and excluded from the federal ballot entirely.
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party → show → ballot
Those abroad who opposed the war had no Yabloko option and predominantly voted New People instead, exit poll workers said.
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workers → oppose → People
"The aim of our civic initiative is to provide a truthful picture of the electoral process abroad," said Irina Kh, part of the active core of Vote Abroad alongside around 15 other activists.
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Kh → provide → activists
"We use no party symbols and have no affiliation with political organisations — we carry out our surveys impartially and independently."
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we → use → surveys
The project was launched in 2021 and has conducted exit polls at Russian elections since, including the 2024 presidential vote.
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project → launch → vote
Volunteers use anonymous written questionnaires of five questions, drawn up and analysed by professional sociologists, including at a German university.
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Volunteers → use → university
The project is self-funded.
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project → fund → ?
No major incidents
Voting abroad was largely calm, exit poll workers said, in contrast to reports from inside Russia of ballot stuffing and obstruction of observers.
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workers → vote → observers
CEC chair Ella Pamfilova said only two cases of ballot stuffing had been recorded nationwide, a claim independent monitors disputed.
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monitors → say → claim
Russia's ambassador to Switzerland branded exit poll participants "anti-Russian agitators" and "representatives of foreign organisations designated as undesirable in Russia."
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ambassador → brand → Russia
In Geneva, local authorities required volunteers to stand at least 150 metres from the consulate entrance after bowing to the consulate's wishes.
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authorities → require → wishes
In Bern, a Russian embassy guard approached one volunteer during the day, pointed at the passport of the person being interviewed and jabbed a finger at her computer screen — apparently intended as a warning about consequences.
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guard → approach → consequences
At some embassies, volunteers said they were recognised from previous elections and admitted without difficulty.
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they → say → difficulty
At others they had to make themselves known.
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themselves → have → others
"In most diplomatic missions, the Russian authorities try not to attract attention and to ensure everything runs smoothly, since they are in another country," Irina Kh said.
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Kh → try → country
"For the Kremlin, the image matters, the facade."
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image → matter → Kremlin
Volunteer Milena, who worked in Geneva, said the exit poll "precisely disrupts this idyllic picture", pointing to the reaction of the Russian ambassador in Bern as evidence of how much the Kremlin wanted to control appearances.
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Kremlin → work → appearances
Supporters of United Russia arrived at polling stations smartly dressed, volunteers observed — "in the best Soviet traditions", one said.
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one → arrive → traditions
Most were either young tourists abroad by chance or people over 45 who had left Russia long ago.
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who → leave → Russia
Some were hostile to the volunteers, demanding to know whether they held Russian passports and telling them to "get a proper job."
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they → demand → job
Others who had voted for United Russia saw the exit poll as an opportunity to confirm the CEC's figures.
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who → vote → figures
In a number of European cities, voters arrived carrying apples, which they handed to other voters and left at polling stations.
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they → arrive → stations
Most told exit poll workers that opposition to the war was their main criterion and that they had voted New People because Yabloko had been removed from the federal ballot.
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Yabloko → tell → ballot
"Many spoke warmly with us, said they follow the Vote Abroad community and welcome the exit polls, as they do not trust elections in Russia," Irina Kh said.
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Kh → speak → Russia
Some, having voted and answered the questionnaire, returned with friends or family members.
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Some → vote → friends
In Helsinki, a grandmother arrived wearing a T-shirt bearing Putin's portrait and spoke to all the volunteers.
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grandmother → arrive → volunteers
"I'll collect my pension in Finland and then go to Russia to live out my years," she told them.
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she → collect → them
Russians abroad were given a more restricted ballot than in 2021.
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Russians → give → 2021
Under legislative changes introduced in 2024, they could vote only on the federal party list, not for single-mandate constituency candidates — a change human rights organisations criticised as violating voters' equality.
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organisations → introduce → equality
The authorities said the amendment was intended to simplify logistics and counting.
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amendment → say → logistics
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
