Linear Russia

Russia's State Duma elections concluded on September 21, with United Russia claiming victory at 58% of the vote. The turnout was 60%, while the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) garnered 13.67%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) took 8.96%, New People earned 7.91%, and A Just Russia received 5.1%. All other parties secured under 2% each.

By Thursday evening, results from thousands of polling stations, including those in four Ukrainian regions and Leningrad Oblast, remained unprocessed. This delay was especially noticeable in Bashkortostan.

A Just Russia broke the electoral threshold during the final hours, surging from 4.97% to 5.1% after a surge in processed protocols. This party's sudden rise to 5.1% was observed at polling stations in St Petersburg, where it received an extraordinary 80.8% and 78.5% respectively. The situation remained unclear for several polling stations in Bashkortostan, with results delayed.

The election process was marked by numerous challenges. The authorities altered election laws, making monitoring at polling stations more difficult. Remote electronic voting was expanded to 33 regions, and three-day voting became standard. Video monitoring for live feeds was largely ineffective, and early voting in 12 regions, home to around 18 million voters, caused confusion.

Vladimir Putin's active campaign involvement during the latter half of August intensified the campaign. Reports of coercion were widespread, including the use of facial-recognition technology in St Petersburg and electronic systems for monitoring turnout in Khabarovsk. In some regions, voters were coerced into voting for specific candidates and had to prove their choice through photographs or screenshots.

By the end of the first day, REV system voting accounted for 70% of the total turnout. The groundwork for potential vote manipulation was laid on the first day, with accusations of observer removals by major parties.