Russia's ruling party has claimed its strongest-ever showing in a national vote that outside critics widely distrust. Near-final results released Monday indicate that United Russia, loyal to President Vladimir Putin, took about 58% of the vote and is on track to hold 355 of 450 seats in the State Duma—enough to easily change laws and amend the constitution without help from its four compliant rival parties. The election, the first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was framed by the Kremlin as a referendum on the war and Russia's unity, Reuters reports, with officials highlighting what they called record turnout of roughly 59% despite Ukrainian drone strikes on Moscow.
The only registered anti-war party, Yabloko, failed to gain national representation but appeared to squeak into the regional parliament in Novgorod, barely crossing the 5% threshold. Its statement said voters backed "peace, freedom and a life free from fear." Election chief Ella Pamfilova described the vote as "clean," rejecting allegations of widespread fraud from exiled opposition activists. In Chechnya, strongman Ramzan Kadyrov was declared reelected with nearly 100% support. United Russia said 49 veterans of the war on Ukraine were elected to parliament, per the Guardian.
- A New York Times analysis says the election was designed to show Russia strongly supports Putin and the war. The piece can be found here.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
