United Russia Retains Duma Majority Despite War — SkimNews
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- United Russia is on course to retain its constitutional majority in the State Duma with even bigger numbers than last time, after more than four-and-a-half years of war on Ukraine, economic difficulties, and widespread petrol shortages caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities.
- Yabloko, the only anti-war party permitted to participate, was struck from the ballot by Russia's Supreme Court just 12 days after registration; roughly 100 of its candidates remained in constituency races but none won, with the party reporting jailed candidates, barred candidates, and unregistered observers.
- Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on the Moscow area ahead of the final day of voting, killing three people in Moscow Region and hitting the capital's oil refinery.
- Voters near the attacked oil refinery showed 'quiet resignation' rather than surprise, with one, Viktor, telling the BBC that people in Donbas, Bryansk, and Belgorod 'hear this kind of thing every day' and 'just get on with their lives.'
- Putin recently ruled out another wave of mobilisation, declaring 'There is no scenario today that would require it' — though Russian society retains deep anxiety about a new round.
- The Kremlin is likely to treat the result as a 'mandate from the people' to continue the war, though specific policy decisions on mobilisation and the war's course remain unclear.
Why it matters: For Putin, the election outcome gives political cover to maintain or escalate the war without electoral consequences; for ordinary Russians, the open question is whether that translates into a new mobilisation wave — publicly denied by Putin but a source of deep societal anxiety. Yabloko's removal from the ballot, just 12 days after registration, closes even the narrowest permissible channel for anti-war dissent.
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