United Russia's real vote share 1.7 times lower than official result in Duma elections

Vladimir Putin's United Russia party received a real vote share 1.7 times lower than the officially announced result in this weekend's State Duma elections, according to independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe. The publication used a statistical method developed by physicist Sergei Shpilkin, analyzing vote distribution by turnout and party results. It identified a "core" of honest precincts centered at 34% for United Russia, suggesting this was the true result absent electoral fraud. Officially, United Russia won 57.83% with over 95% of votes counted, securing 355 seats—nearly 80% of the Duma and a constitutional majority. This surpasses its 2016 record of 343 seats. Four other parties passed the 5% threshold to enter parliament.