In a political system where outcomes are shaped before ballots are cast, Russia's parliamentary election returned the expected result: Vladimir Putin's United Russia retained its constitutional majority in the State Duma, more than four years into a war that has cost the country dearly in lives and economic stability. The sole anti-war party permitted to register was swiftly removed from the ballot by the Supreme Court, its candidates jailed or barred, its observers denied entry to polling stations. What the election revealed was not the will of the people, but the architecture of a state that
Russia's predictable election masks uncertainty over war policy ahead
Yabloko candidates faced detention, barring from candidacy, and election observers were prevented from monitoring the vote.