Russia: pro-Putin party secures another landslide victory in the Duma

But this is a reality that has no place in the official narrative, which – with the count almost complete (90.43 per cent of the votes) – naturally awarded United Russia 57.86 per cent and a constitutional majority, a better result than in previous elections (49.8 per cent in 2021) and of what had been described as the Kremlin’s targets, both for its own party and for voter turnout: the latter, at 57 per cent, also set a record, surpassing the 51.72 per cent recorded in the previous parliamentary elections.

Second place went to the Communists with 13.86 per cent: they will enter the Duma alongside the Liberal Democrats (who are, in reality, ultra-nationalists, 8.9 per cent) and “New People” (7.94 per cent), a party founded to provide an outlet for moderate protest on economic and social issues. ‘Fair Russia’, part of the systemic opposition – which is aligned with the Kremlin on the war – has been left out, having failed to clear the 5 per cent threshold and securing only 4.95 per cent of the vote. The picture is rounded off by the result achieved by Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya’s strongman, who is said to have secured 99.85 per cent of the vote.

To further emphasise the significance of United Russia’s success, the authorities highlighted the climate of unprecedented pressure in which the election took place: Ella Pamfilova, chair of the Electoral Commission, reported more than a thousand cyber-attacks on the electronic voting system, describing them as ‘signs of Ukrainian interference’ in what she called the most complex elections of her career. The final day of voting began in Moscow with a heavy attack by Ukrainian drones, leaving three people dead and a refinery on the outskirts of the capital ablaze: a “clear attempt by Ukraine to interfere in the vote”, said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

But in Ukraine too, following the weekend’s attacks, the authorities report at least eight deaths. On Monday night, a bombing left a university building in Zaporizhzhia ablaze. Putin is expected to declare electoral victory: having staked everything on continuing the war, and having asked every voter to contribute to the victory, the Russian president will undoubtedly claim the result as his own, presenting it as confirmation of his plans. Many fear the announcement of a mobilisation, or of further sacrifices in the name of the war: the future scenario, amongst other things, will feature a Duma filled with numerous veterans included on United Russia’s candidate lists. ‘It will be significantly bolstered by front-line soldiers,’ has already clarified Yevgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent who tops the party’s lists.