Russia begins three days of voting in first wartime parliamentary election

Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday 18 September 2026 for a three-day parliamentary election, the first since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. United Russia, the Kremlin's main party, is poised to retain its overwhelming grip on the State Duma alongside other parties aligned with President Vladimir Putin, after the only party that criticised the war was removed from the ballot. Authorities stifled dissent ahead of the vote, held as drone strikes damage Russian oil refineries and logistical facilities and public nervousness grows after four and a half years of war.