{
  "id": 8883085,
  "title": "Wahl in Russland: Kremlpartei führt Putins Kriegs-Duma mit Zweidrittelmehrheit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/wahl-in-russland-kremlpartei-fuhrt-putins-kriegs-duma-mit",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T08:39:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/wahl-in-russland-kremlpartei-fuehrt-putins-kriegs-duma-mit-zweidrittelmehrheit/100256136.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "In Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, the pro-Kremlin United Russia party has significantly expanded its two-thirds majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, according to data from the Central Election Commission in Moscow. The party, which has governed Russia for over 20 years, is now expected to secure around 355 seats, an increase of 20 compared to previous elections. This is the highest result in the party's history. The Duma has a total of 450 seats. As of the morning, over 95 percent of the ballots, including electronic ones, had been tallied. The Kremlin-backed party was officially declared the winner by a margin of 57.83 percent of the votes, with Ella Pamfilova, the chief election official, reporting 49.8 percent of the votes to the Central Election Commission. The Duma has only four parties represented, down from five. Despite the alleged vote-rigging, Putin's victory has been viewed as a clear signal to continue the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. Kremlin detractors, however, called it a farce. Russian political scientist Tatjana Stanowaja stated that while there were clear \"frauds,\" the party could not have achieved such a result. Nevertheless, it reflects the overall power dynamics. United Russia enjoys support in Russia. \"There was no failure,\" she said. War opponents among the eligible voters could have turned to other parties like the Greens if the exclusion of Jabloko had been lifted. \"The system managed the election and voting as it wanted - with the optimal results for itself,\" Stanowaja added. Due to the exclusion of a genuine opposition and lack of press and freedom of opinion, the elections have been criticized as neither democratic nor fair, similar to previous years. Only four parties may be present in the State Duma now. The Communist Party came in second with 13.81 percent of the votes; the ultranationalist LDPR came in third with 8.98 percent; the populist New People party had 7.94 percent; and the Rightist Russia party failed to meet the five percent threshold, having been just behind at 4.96 percent at the end of the day. Currently, they were one of the five parties in the Duma. Pamfilova mentioned that the party still had a chance to enter the Duma due to the last-minute counting of votes. The Communist Party had 18.9 percent of the votes in the previous election, LDPR 7.5 percent, Rightist Russia 7.4 percent, and New People 5.3 percent. All parties support Putin's war in Ukraine. For the ruling party, more than four and a half years after the invasion of the neighboring country, 86 war veterans have been elected to parliament. Despite a mass economic crisis, war fatigue, and public dissatisfaction, the voter turnout of around 59 percent was the highest since 15 years. Kremlin party chief, former President Dmitri Medvedev, hailed the result as a great success, stating that the opponent had tried to sabotage the elections but failed due to alleged cyberattacks on the online voting system. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian targets, resulting in deaths and injuries, had also taken place during the week of the election. Medvedev claimed that the attacks spurred people to cast their votes under difficult circumstances. \"This is probably the most important result,\" Medvedev said. The ruling party can now \"implement the most complex and urgent decisions,\" he added, without providing details. For months, speculation has been rife about a new mobilization in Russia. Medvedev and Putin categorically rejected such fears. Political scientist Alexander Morosow believes Putin is portraying himself as the leader of a war bureaucracy during the elections in crisis times. He expects repression to increase in Russia and values the result as a legitimization to run in the 2030 presidential election. However, the president must first provide evidence of a victory in the war against Ukraine. The new parliament is a \"Duma of War,\" a \"bloody Duma,\" Morosow says. The Kremlin is now forming a parliament to \"finally destroy Ukraine.\" So far, about a fifth of the parliament had hardliners who were the worst enemies of Ukraine and the West; now, war advocates will make up half. However, Russians are actually concerned about whether the war would end, their living conditions would not worsen, and institutions like banks would continue to operate reliably. Despite Ukraine's protests, the election was held in the Russian-controlled parts of the annexed Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Saporischschja, and Cherson for the third time. The Black Sea Peninsula of Crimea, already annexed by Russia in 2014, also held the election.",
  "summary": "In Russlands neuem Parlament sitzen erstmals auch Dutzende Kriegsteilnehmer. Die neue Staatsduma gilt für Kremlchef Putin auch als Basis für seinen Kurs der Militärgewalt gegen die Ukraine.",
  "key_points": [
    "United Russia party secures two-thirds majority in Russian State Duma",
    "Party expected to win 355 seats, highest in its history",
    "Kremlin-backed party declared winner with 57.83% of votes"
  ],
  "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."
}