Overview
- The three-day parliamentary and regional vote opened on September 18, 2026, with authorities extending early voting in border regions and occupied Ukrainian territories.
- President Vladimir Putin framed the elections as a test of backing for the war and cast a remote ballot, framing participation as a sign of unity behind the armed forces.
- The anti-war party Yabloko was removed from the federal ballot by the Supreme Court and regional election commissions in Sverdlovsk annulled five Yabloko candidates after arrests and fines.
- Independent outlets and rights groups reported organized pressure on voters and observers, including forced transport of public-sector staff to polling stations, mass refusals to admit party monitors and at least one reported abduction of a Yabloko observer in Rostov.
- Investigative journalists published leaked developer documents showing vulnerabilities in the Vybory 2.0 electronic system that could allow substitution of protocols and uploading of unverified results, raising fresh concerns about how votes will be recorded and reported ahead of official tallies expected by September 22.