Russians are voting on the final day of parliamentary elections, with President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party widely expected to retain its dominant position in the State Duma. The election is taking place as Moscow and the surrounding region face a major wave of drone attacks linked to the war in Ukraine.
The vote is the first parliamentary election in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. While the result is not expected to threaten United Russia’s control, the campaign and turnout may offer limited insight into public sentiment as the conflict increasingly affects daily life inside Russia.
What is happening in Russia’s parliamentary election?
Voting on Sunday marks the final day of an election that will determine the composition of Russia’s 450-seat State Duma. United Russia has won every parliamentary election held since 2003 and is widely expected to emerge as the largest force again.
The party is closely associated with Putin and currently dominates Russia’s political system. Opposition groups face significant legal and institutional restrictions, making the election environment markedly different from a competitive multiparty contest in many European democracies.
The result will determine the parliamentary balance for the next term, but the election is not expected to produce a change in national leadership. Its wider significance lies in how authorities manage voting during wartime and whether public participation reflects support, resignation or opposition to government policy.
Yabloko removed from the ballot
Russia’s Supreme Court ordered the Yabloko party to be removed from the ballot in August. The party has been one of the few organised political forces to oppose the war and advocate a ceasefire, diplomacy and peace.
Yabloko co-founder Grigory Yavlinsky criticised the decision and said the party would appeal. Some Yabloko candidates were reportedly still able to contest individual constituency seats, but the party’s exclusion reduced the scope for an organised anti-war campaign in the national vote.
The party also reported alleged interference with its election observers. Yabloko said one observer in St Petersburg lost consciousness while being subjected to force by police, and claimed that other observers had been denied access to polling stations or had their movements restricted. Those allegations were reported by the party and were not independently established in the supplied source.
Moscow faces major drone attacks during voting
The election took place as Moscow experienced what the city’s mayor described as the largest-scale attack on the capital since the war began. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Russian air defences had intercepted more than 1,600 drones across Russia since Saturday, including 450 that were heading towards Moscow.
Sobyanin said several drones reached the area of the Moscow oil refinery and that one struck a residential building. He reported no fatalities in the city. Andrey Vorobyov, governor of Moscow Oblast, said two people had been killed in attacks across the wider region.
The mayor accused Ukraine of seeking to disrupt the election. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces had targeted the Moscow region, saying a key oil-industry facility and a logistics site had been hit.
The competing accounts underline how closely the election is taking place alongside the war. Russian officials have framed the attacks as an attempt to interfere with voting, while Ukraine has presented its strikes as part of its long-range military response to Russia’s invasion.
Why the election matters beyond Russia
Russia’s parliamentary election has wider European significance because it is taking place during an active war with Ukraine and amid continuing confrontation between Moscow and European governments. The election may affect the political mandate used by the Kremlin to support domestic security measures, military mobilisation and wartime policy.
However, the result should be interpreted cautiously. The removal of a major anti-war party, restrictions on observers and the dominance of United Russia limit what the vote can reveal about genuine political competition. A strong parliamentary majority would not, by itself, establish broad public support for every aspect of the government’s war policy.
For European policymakers, the election is also relevant to the future direction of Russia’s relations with Ukraine and the wider European security environment. Any assessment will depend not only on the final seat distribution but also on turnout, reports from observers and the treatment of opposition candidates.
What happens next?
Authorities will proceed with counting ballots and announcing the composition of the State Duma. Attention is likely to focus on turnout, constituency-level contests involving independent or opposition-linked candidates, and any further reports of disruptions or pressure at polling stations.
The immediate security situation around Moscow will also remain important. Continued attacks could shape the political atmosphere after voting and intensify official efforts to present the war as a direct threat to Russia’s territory.
For Europe, the central takeaway is that Russia’s parliamentary election is unfolding not as an isolated domestic event but against the backdrop of an ongoing war, restricted political competition and rising attacks involving the country’s capital.
