Overview
- Voting opened Friday in a tightly managed three-day election to renew the 450-seat State Duma with ballots held for the first time in Crimea and the four Ukrainian regions Moscow annexed in 2022.
- The Russian Supreme Court removed the anti-war party Yabloko from the proportional ballot and election bodies disqualified additional opposition candidates, leaving mainly Kremlin-aligned and system-friendly parties on the lists.
- President Vladimir Putin urged turnout and the government announced plans to strengthen air and space defences after the Defense Ministry reported hundreds of Ukrainian drones were shot down in the hours before voting.
- Exiled opposition leaders urged tactical voting, ballot annulment and a synchronized 'noon' turnout to register protest inside the limited choices available to voters.
- Daily life is strained by war-related economic pressure, including rising inflation and fuel shortages from strikes on refineries, and analysts warn the vote will likely reinforce the Kremlin’s parliamentary majority while narrowing real political competition.