A new parliament was elected in Russia last weekend. The renewed victory of the ruling party United Russia surprises few people. The ongoing course of war was not an option.

For the first time since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, the State Duma was elected in Russia. The elections lasted three days. The national parliament has 450 seats, with half of the representatives elected via direct constituencies and the other half via party lists. According to the first onesProjectionsThe incumbent ruling party United Russia won the elections again with 57.5 percent of the vote. It was able to increase its result by 8 percentage points compared to 2021. She has now ruled for almost 20 years in a row.

The remaining parties, which were also represented in the last parliament, all manage to re-enter the country. The Communist Party received 14.2 percent of the vote, followed by the nationalist party LDPR with 10.7 percent. The New People (9.7 percent) and Just Russia (6.6 percent) parties are also represented again. According to the returning officer, the final results will not be announced until September 25th at the earliest.

Duma election in Russia: A reflection of satisfaction

A course of war was never an option

With the exclusion of the liberal anti-war party Jabloko from the elections, the war path remains intact. It is the only party that has openly opposed the war of aggression against Ukraine. The remaining parties represented in parliament present themselves as systemic opposition, but they also position themselves as supporters of the war machine. They offer an alternative only in the sense that the vote is not placed on United Russia. They are running as a more moderate opposition.

The only difference is to what extent or against whom the weapons should be raised. But there is no question that the war in Ukraine should continue. Furthermore, the opposition does not have enough votes to actually provide a counterweight to the ruling United Russia party.

It is unclear whether, in addition to the exclusion of the opposition, there was also direct election manipulation by the Russian state. Independent election observers are not permitted in Russia. There are individualsReportsof pre-filled ballot papers.

War without end: Ukraine intensifies attacks on Russian infrastructure

Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow

On Sunday, the last day of voting, according to RussianDeclarationsUkrainian drones were fired at Moscow. Pictures show burning houses in the Russian capital. Around 180 missiles were intercepted by the Russian military. The target of the attack was a logistics facility and a facility at the Moscow oil refinery, which had already been attacked in the past. Four people were killed as a result. At least 20 people were probably injured on the Russian side.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj commented on the attacks andexplained, that “one of the most important facilities in the Russian oil industry” and a logistics facility had been hit. “These are billions of dollars that keep the war machine running,” emphasizes Zelensky. At the same time there were Russian retaliatory attacks on Kyiv. It remains to be seen whether the Russian government will use the election it has won to intensify mobilization for the military.

 

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