Russia Opens Three-Day Parliamentary Vote With Opposition All but Absent

Russians began voting on Friday in a three-day parliamentary election, the country's first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with little meaningful opposition on the ballot and the outcome widely expected to reinforce the Kremlin's political dominance.

Polling stations opened on Friday and will close on Sunday. Authorities stretched the vote across three days in an effort to lift turnout among the roughly 111 million eligible voters, and electronic balloting was permitted.

President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation before voting began, telling citizens that their participation would show that millions stand behind the country's fighters and that Russians are united by shared values, historical memory and love for the Motherland.

The Kremlin is seeking to use the election to signal public backing for the war and to lend its actions a measure of legitimacy. It has moved to eliminate even minor signs of dissent in order to avoid political risk.

United Russia, the main pro-Kremlin party, is all but assured of keeping its overwhelming control of the lower house, the State Duma. Several smaller parties that make up the "systemic opposition" — voting in line with the government on all key issues — are also expected to hold on to their seats.

Voters are casting two ballots. Half of the Duma's 450 seats are filled through party lists, while the remainder are decided in single-seat constituencies where voters choose individual candidates.

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political force that dared to criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia's Supreme Court. It is fielding only a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races. Some anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced to leave the country ahead of the campaign.

The election follows a summer in which Ukrainian long-range drone strikes hit oil refineries, triggering a widespread fuel crisis. Warehouses belonging to the online retailers Wildberries and Ozon were also attacked. The damage has deepened problems for the Russian economy and brought the war home to millions.

For the first time, the parliamentary election includes residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began. Voting is also taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

Authorities in Kyiv have denounced the voting in Russian-held areas as illegal and urged foreign governments and international organizations not to recognize the election. They have also warned Ukrainians that taking part in organizing the balloting could carry criminal liability.