In a political system dominated by the Kremlin, few expected drama and none arrived. United Russia is on track to retain its constitutional majority in the State Duma, according to preliminary results, reaffirming its hold on power despite more than four and a half years of war in Ukraine, heavy battlefield losses, economic strain and fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities.
No other party came close. Those crossing the 5% threshold appear to be the same parties that sat in the previous parliament a chamber that consistently backed the Kremlin and its “special military operation”.
One party that did not make it into parliament was Yabloko, the only anti‑war party permitted to register for the election. Just 12 days later, the Supreme Court removed it from the ballot a move widely seen as a sign of Kremlin anxiety that Yabloko’s pro‑peace message was resonating too strongly with voters.
Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov said the outcome was entirely predictable. “What other result can there be if there were 10 parties on the ballot and they all support the policies of [President Vladimir] Putin?” he told me. “I don’t think the Duma will change. They’ll vote 100% for the policies of Putin just like they did.”
Although struck from the party list, around 100 Yabloko candidates continued running in individual constituencies but the pressure was relentless. “Some of our candidates, who should have been running, are in jail, many were barred from running and some of our election observers weren’t registered and were unable to keep an eye on the voting,” Rybakov said.
In a tightly managed political landscape, the new Duma looks set to mirror the old one: compliant, controlled and firmly aligned with the Kremlin’s agenda.
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