{
  "id": 11208922,
  "title": "A useful ritual: Why authoritarian regimes still need elections — and why Russia’s model is weakening",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/a-useful-ritual-why-authoritarian-regimes-still-need-elections-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T13:43:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/politics/297789"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Elections may appear to be a mere formality in authoritarian regimes, but they serve a crucial purpose. In Russia, even though the authorities tightly control the electoral process, the event still holds significance. In the recent polls, the anti-war party Yabloko, which was banned from running in the September parliamentary election, saw its support rise from 1% to 4% within a few weeks of its inclusion on the ballot. If allowed to participate, Yabloko could have easily surpassed the 5% threshold required for representation in the State Duma. This surge in support demonstrated the potential threat such opposition parties pose to an authoritarian regime. The Kremlin's control over the electoral system is evident in the fact that the so-called \"systemic opposition,\" officially registered parties that operate within the Kremlin-controlled political system, were allowed to win in 16 out of 224 single-mandate districts. Meanwhile, genuinely anti-Kremlin politicians were neutralized through repression. This manipulation of the electoral process highlights the need for the illusion of choice in a regime where the reality is far from democratic.",
  "summary": "From Sept. 18 to 20, Russia held its first State Duma elections since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The official results — nearly 58% in favor of the Kremlin’s ruling United Russia party — appear to have been inflated by upwards of 23%. Over Vladimir Putin’s 26 years in power, the country’s electoral system has evolved from one that was at least somewhat competitive into one…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}