Russia's Duma elections offer ritual of voting, not real choice

Russia is holding its first State Duma elections since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, a three-day vote the Kremlin wants to frame as a show of support for the war effort. United Russia, the party most closely tied to President Vladimir Putin, is polling at nearly 40 percent and is all but certain to retain power, with experts arguing the appearance of a vote matters more to Moscow than the actual outcome.