Voting begins in three-day Russian parliamentary election — SkimNews
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- Russia's Central Election Commission reported about 30% turnout by late Friday in the three-day vote ending Sunday, with electronic balloting introduced for the first time among 111 million eligible voters.
- United Russia is all but assured to retain control of the 450-seat State Duma, alongside smaller "systemic opposition" parties that vote in sync with the Kremlin on key issues.
- Yabloko, the only registered party that openly criticized the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia's Supreme Court, while anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced into exile.
- For the first time, voting included residents of four Ukrainian regions Moscow illegally annexed after 2022, plus Crimea (annexed 2014), with an armed Russian soldier watching voters at one Donetsk polling station.
- The European Union called voting in Russian-held Ukrainian territory "illegal" and "a blatant violation of international law"; Russia declined to invite observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
- Ukrainian drone strikes intruded on voting day — Sochi polling stations closed briefly over a drone threat, a Krasnodar station relocated after a drone shattered its windows, and 14 Luhansk stations ran on backup power after strikes damaged electrical lines.
- Vladimir Putin voted online Friday and framed the election as proof that "millions of people stand behind our fighters," though interviewees cited by the AP offered mixed views, with pensioners expressing hope for peace and economic stability.
Why it matters: With Yabloko removed and anti-war figures jailed or exiled, the vote offers no real measure of dissent, while the inclusion of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions formalizes Moscow's territorial claims in a process the EU calls 'a blatant violation of international law.'
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