Russia Concludes First Wartime Parliamentary Vote as Kremlin Control Appears Certain

Russia's first parliamentary election since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine concluded on Sunday, with the Kremlin's political dominance virtually guaranteed amid the absence of genuine opposition. The vote, which began Friday, was marked by a massive wave of Ukrainian drone attacks overnight, including more than 1,000 drones fired at Russia, with hundreds aimed at Moscow.

The election is seen by the Kremlin as a way to demonstrate popular support for the war and legitimize its actions. Authorities have suppressed dissent, and a heavy state media campaign has left little room for opposition. For the first time, voting took place in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began but does not fully control, as well as in Crimea, annexed in 2014. Kyiv and the European Union have denounced the voting in these areas as illegal and a violation of international law.

Voters cast two ballots: one for party lists to fill half of the 450-seat State Duma, and another for individual candidates in single-seat constituencies. Preliminary results are expected within hours of polls closing in western Russia. The main Kremlin party, United Russia, is widely expected to retain its overwhelming control, with several smaller "systemic opposition" parties also expected to keep their seats.

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered entity to publicly criticize the war, was removed from the party-list ballot last month by Russia's Supreme Court and has only a few dozen single-constituency candidates. Some anti-war politicians were imprisoned or fled abroad. Yabloko and the Communist Party reported that many of their observers were turned away from polling stations, and cited violations such as sealed ballot boxes being opened and doors left unsecured overnight. These claims could not be independently verified.

Russia did not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, accusing the body of double standards. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly president called the decision a breach of Russia's commitments. At one polling station in the Russian-held part of Donetsk region, an armed Russian soldier stood watch as voters cast ballots.

Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Election Commission, said the electronic voting system was targeted by cyberattacks in Moscow. Independent outlet SotaVision reported glitches in electronic registry systems at polling stations across Moscow, with voters asked to use electronic terminals instead of paper ballots. Leonid Volkov, an associate of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, suggested the breakdown may have been deliberate to push voters toward electronic voting.

Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov cast his ballot in St. Petersburg on Sunday, with his ballot covered in green writing reading "For freedom," "For peace," and "Yabloko." Exiled opposition figures, including Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya, had called on anti-war Russians to vote at noon on Sunday. Thousands of Russians in Armenia lined up at the embassy in Yerevan for the "Noon for a Peaceful Russia" demonstration, some holding anti-war and anti-Putin posters. In Germany, voters cast ballots at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, where dissident Andrei Pivovarov addressed a protest.

The election's final day came amid a major wave of Ukrainian attacks. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 1,110 Ukrainian drones across Russia, Crimea, and the Black Sea. Two people were killed and 20 wounded in the wider Moscow region, according to local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov. The vote follows a summer of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on oil refineries that triggered a fuel crisis and attacks on warehouses belonging to online retailers Wildberries and Ozon, exacerbating economic problems and bringing the war home to millions.