Russians begin voting in parliamentary election in shadow of war

Polling stations in Russia's Far East opened on Friday, marking the start of a three-day parliamentary election. This election, scheduled in the fifth year of Russia's war with Ukraine, is virtually assured to be won by President Vladimir Putin's party. It is Russia's first parliamentary election since the country escalated its military campaign into Ukraine in February 2022, an action that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Only parties aligned with Putin and the Kremlin's military campaign have been permitted to participate. Moscow has also set up polling places in occupied Ukraine. Despite the certainty of Putin's United Russia party's victory, the election provides the Kremlin with a chance to assess public backing for the war.

The vote to elect 450 members of Russia's lower house, known as the Duma, will continue until Sunday. The conflict's effects are becoming increasingly apparent, prompting the Kremlin to gauge public sentiment.

Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and Chukotka, located on the Pacific, were among the first regions to begin voting, with the vote running across all 11 of Russia's time zones.

Putin, who has governed Russia since New Year's Eve 1999, has dominated Russian politics since the early 2000s. Moscow has strictly controlled the elections, which are seen as predictable due to the Kremlin's dominance. United Russia is primarily contesting against parties that endorse most of Putin's policies, including the Communist Party, the nationalist LDPR, A Just Russia, and New People.

Yabloko, a party advocating for an end to the conflict, was prohibited from participating shortly before the election. Lev Shlosberg, a key figure in Yabloko who had criticized the war, was imprisoned for his dissent.

In advance of the vote, Putin urged Russians to cast their ballots to demonstrate support for the troops, framing it as a "common answer" to those aiming to weaken Russia. The war has severed Moscow's ties with the West, resulting in substantial economic sanctions.

Lacking public debate and with protests forbidden, the election serves as a gauge of public frustration with the conflict, which shows no signs of abating. This year, the war's impact has been felt more acutely among ordinary Russians, with Ukrainian strikes reaching as far as the Urals and Siberia, causing significant damage and civilian casualties.

Putin's political adversaries have largely been exiled, and his main rival, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison in 2024. Exiled opposition has urged anti-Kremlin Russians to vote in the elections, but not to support Putin's party, providing recommendations for voters in different regions.

There are concerns that the post-election period in Russia could see a new military mobilisation akin to the one in 2022, when Putin called up 300,000 reservists. This move was highly unpopular and led to a mass exodus of draft-age men from Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Kremlin of planning a fresh mobilisation campaign this autumn, a claim Putin has denied.