Russians begin voting in controlled election as war drags on
AI generated
MOSCOW - Polling stations opened early on Sept 18 in Russia’s Far East, kicking off a three-day election that President Vladimir Putin’s party is all but guaranteed to win in the fifth year of war with Ukraine.
It will be Russia’s first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
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Moscow → begin → February
The conflict has since killed hundreds of thousands.
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conflict → kill → thousands
Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin’s dragging military campaign have been registered to run.
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that → support → Putin
Moscow has also organised voting in occupied Ukraine.
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Moscow → organise → Ukraine
While few in Russia doubt Putin’s United Russia party will sail to victory again, the vote is an opportunity for the Kremlin to gauge public support for the Ukraine war, the effects of which have hit home more than ever this year.
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effects → doubt → home
In a grim reminder of the fighting, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Sept 18 that Russia destroyed dozens of Ukrainian drones bound for the capital overnight.
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Russia → say → capital
“More than 350 UAVs flew towards the Moscow region between 8pm on Sept 17 and 7am on Sept 18,” he said on Telegram, adding that most were destroyed at an outer defensive perimeter and some 64 were shot down as they were approaching the sprawling city.
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they → fly → city
The vote to renew the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia’s Lower House of Parliament, will run until 1800 GMT on Sept 20.
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vote → renew → Sept
Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula and Chukotka – on the Pacific – are the first of Russia’s 11 time zones to begin voting.
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peninsula → begin → zones
Putin has ruled Russia since New Year’s Eve 1999 and his United Russia party has dominated Russian politics since the early 2000s.
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party → rule → 2000s
Moscow has banned criticism of its Ukraine campaign and the Russian elections, tightly controlled by the Kremlin, are bringing few surprises.
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elections → ban → surprises
‘Emotionally important to Putin’
United Russia is only facing parties who back most of Putin’s policies and the war in Ukraine: the Communist Party, the nationalist LDPR, A Just Russia and New People.
Yabloko, which called for an end to fighting, was barred from running shortly before the vote.
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which → face → vote
One of its main figures, Lev Shlosberg, was imprisoned for criticising the war.
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One → imprison → war
Apostol, a 20-year-old Muscovite, told AFP he “did not see the point” in voting for anyone but United Russia because they will “win anyway”.
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they → tell → anyone
Tatiana Stanovaya, a France-based Russian political expert, said Putin liked to “compare his political situation” to those in European countries.
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Putin → base → countries
“So he can always say, look, we had an election.
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we → say → election
I benefit from such significant support of Russians,” she told AFP.
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she → benefit → AFP
“So for him it’s personally, emotionally, politically very important,” she said.
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she → ’ → him
Ahead of the vote, the 73-year-old leader called on Russians to vote to show troops that “behind our fighters stand millions of people” and to demonstrate a “common answer to those who want to weaken Russia.”
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who → call → Russia
The war has broken Moscow’s ties with the West, which has hit Russia with massive economic sanctions.
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which → break → sanctions
In the absence of a public debate and with protests banned, the vote will serve as a barometer for the Kremlin of public frustration with the conflict, which has no end in sight.
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which → ban → sight
In 2026, the war hit ordinary Russians more than ever, with Ukrainian strikes reaching as far as the Urals and Siberia, and causing billions of rubles in damage – as well as civilian deaths deep inside Russia.
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strikes → hit → Russia
Putin’s political opponents have mostly been driven into exile and his main opponent Alexei Navalny – who once brought thousands to the streets during elections – died in an Arctic prison in 2024.
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who → drive → 2024
Russia’s exiled opposition called on anti-Kremlin Russians not to boycott the elections but to vote “against Putin’s party”, publishing recommendations of who to back in which region.
Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya also called on anti-war Russians to vote at the same time – at noon on Sept 20
Yabloko, however, disagreed, arguing that it was better not to vote.
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it → exile → Sept
“You are suggesting that we once again go, like sheep, dancing to their tune, and vote for those who have caused the deaths of people in Russia and Ukraine?” its chairman Nikolay Rybakov said at a party meeting in Saint Petersburg this week.
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chairman → suggest → Petersburg
Some fear the post-election period in Russia will bring a new military mobilisation, similar to the one in 2022, when Putin called up 300,000 reservists.
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Putin → fear → reservists
That hugely unpopular move led to an exodus of draft-age men out of Russia.
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move → lead → Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Kremlin of planning a fresh mobilisation campaign “this autumn”, a suggestion Putin has denied.
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Putin → accuse → suggestion
The Aporia
