Kommentar: Putins Demokratie-Show kann die schlechte Stimmung nicht verbergen
Die Kreml-Partei gewinnt wie erwartet die Duma-Wahl. Doch die Bevölkerung reagiert zunehmend genervt auf die Folgen des Krieges gegen die Ukraine.
The mood in Russia is poor. Constant warehouses or oil refineries are burning, fuel scarcity causes a frenzy at petrol stations, and the internet is regularly blocked by intelligence services. President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine, lasting more than four years, is now a part of everyday Russian life – and the population's response is increasingly annoyed.
To remind Russian voters of the unpopular war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bombed a major refinery in Moscow during Sunday's Duma election. The images carried immense symbolism: The voting process was literally overshadowed by the smoke plumes of war. That a ruling party like United Russia would receive half the votes even with this backdrop would be unimaginable in a free, democratic election.
The election result therefore shows only one thing: The Duma election is not an election, but a pure democracy show of the Kremlin. What truly stood on the ballots in the voting boxes will never be known to the world. The official final result, like every five years, is set and announced by the authorities. The significance of this is therefore zero. The backing Putin claimed for the war cannot be read from this.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
