Russia's first wartime parliamentary election shows Kremlin dominance all but assured

The election was virtually devoid of opposition to President Putin's policies.

Russia's first wartime parliamentary election was due to end Sunday, virtually devoid of opposition to President Vladimir Putin's policies and all but certain to cement the Kremlin’s dominance. The last day of the election came as Ukrainian forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia overnight, including hundreds that were launched toward Moscow.

The vote began Friday, and authorities encouraged online balloting to boost turnout among its 111 million eligible voters.

For the first time, the election included residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began but still doesn’t fully control. Voting is also taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Authorities in Kyiv denounced the voting in the Russian-held areas as illegal and urged foreign governments not to recognize the result. The European Union on Friday called the action a “blatant violation of international law.”

The Kremlin wants the parliamentary election — the first since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — to showcase popular support for the war and legitimize its action. It has sought to avoid political risks by stamping out any dissent.

A massive state media campaign and tight control over the election in the absence of genuine opposition all but assure the Kremlin will keep tight control of Russian politics amid mounting economic costs and increasing Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside the country.

Voters cast two separate ballots, filling half of the Duma’s 450 seats by selecting political parties listed on the ballot. The rest are contested in single-seat constituencies, with voters choosing individual candidates.

Preliminary results are expected within hours of voting ending in the country’s west.

The main Kremlin party , United Russia, is widely expected to retain its overwhelming control of the lower house, the State Duma. Several smaller parties of the “systemic opposition” that vote in sync with Putin's views on all key issues also are expected to maintain their presence.

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to publicly criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races. Additionally, some anti-war politicians were imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.

Yabloko and the Communist Party, which has criticized some aspects of government policy but carefully avoided any criticism of Putin, said many of their observers were turned away from polling stations.

Russia didn’t invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the Russian Foreign Ministry accusing the body of “double standards” for its criticism of Russia. OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons said that the decision was a breach of Russia’s commitments as a member state of the organization.

Yabloko reported that one of its observers lost consciousness while being arrested by police at a St.