United Russia's supermajority win: How the Kremlin secured it

Russia's ruling United Russia party won 355 of 450 seats in the State Duma elections, according to preliminary results released Monday, securing a supermajority that maintains President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and could enable further escalation of the war in Ukraine. The election, Russia's first parliamentary vote since the war began, was widely described by analysts as the country's most uncompetitive in modern history. The Kremlin used electronic voting across 33 regions and a three-day voting period to facilitate result manipulation, while barring opposition candidates, including 29 from the anti-war Yabloko party, through fines and "foreign agent" designations. United Russia's public approval stood at just 33% before the vote, yet turnout was reported at 60%. Only four other parties cleared the electoral threshold, all of which support the war, leaving no genuine opposition. Putin framed participation as support for the conflict, and at least 86 war veterans are expected to take seats.