Russia's ruling party United Russia is set to retain a two-thirds majority in the State Duma after the parliamentary election, consolidating President Vladimir Putin's control over a legislature that critics have dubbed a "parliament of war." Preliminary results showed the party receiving 57.9% of the vote after more than half of ballots were counted, according to Interfax, which cited election authorities. The figure significantly exceeded pre-election forecasts that placed United Russia below 50%.
In addition to its proportional-share seats, United Russia won 309 direct mandates out of 450 Duma seats, reported the Kremlin-critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta — nine more seats than the constitutional threshold required to amend Russia's charter. In the 2021 Duma election, the Central Election Commission had awarded United Russia 49.8% of the vote.
The Communist Party finished second with 13.8% of the vote, up from 18.9% in 2021. The ultranationalist LDPR garnered 8.8%, compared with 7.5% previously. Nowye Lyudi (New People), a party popular among liberal urban voters, won 7.9%, while Yedinaya Rossiya's junior coalition partner Spravedlivaya Rossiya (Just Russia) narrowly cleared the 5% threshold with 5.1%, down from 7.4% in 2021.
All ten parties appearing on the ballot are Kremlin-aligned and have publicly supported the war in Ukraine, which began with the full-scale invasion in February 2022. More than four and a half years into the conflict, war veterans are now entering the Duma alongside career legislators.
Turnout reached over 56%, the highest level in 15 years, according to election data. The higher participation came against a backdrop of economic crisis, war fatigue, and rising public discontent.
Dmitry Medvedev, former president and current chairman of United Russia, hailed the result as a major victory. He said opponents had attempted to sabotage the election but failed, referencing cyberattacks on online voting reported by election authorities and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian targets over the weekend that left people dead and injured. Those attacks "only spurred people further to cast their votes under difficult circumstances," Medvedev told reporters. He added that the party could now "implement the most complex and urgent decisions" without elaborating.
For months, speculation has circulated about a new mobilization order in Russia. Both Medvedev and Putin have categorically denied such plans.
Alexander Morozov, a Kremlin-critical political analyst, described the incoming parliament as a "Duma of war" and a "bloodthirsty Duma," asserting that the Kremlin is now assembling a legislature aimed at the "complete destruction of Ukraine." He noted that hardliners who previously accounted for roughly one-fifth of the Duma could soon make up half, and predicted that repression within Russia would intensify. Morozov said Putin is likely to interpret the results as legitimation for a third presidential term in 2030, though he would need to present a military victory in Ukraine first.
The banned antiwar party Yabloko and allies of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny accused election officials of stealing votes from Russians who favor peace negotiations with Ukraine. "No matter how much the elections are manipulated — we know there are very many Russians who are against the war and speak out against Putin and his party," Navalny's team said in a statement.
Independent experts, the exiled opposition, and even the Kremlin-loyal Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov have accused Russian election authorities of falsifying results. With genuine opposition parties excluded and press freedom absent, the vote was again criticized as neither democratic nor fair.
