Putin strengthens control over Russia, 49 Ukraine war veterans take seats in Duma

Results announced by Russian authorities show that United Russia has won 355 out of 450 seats in the new Duma. This gives the ruling, pro-Kremlin party a broad parliamentary majority, while the new composition will also include 49 veterans of the war in Ukraine.

With about 95% of votes counted, United Russia has 57.83% support, according to Central Election Commission chairwoman Ella Pamfilova. In the 2021 parliamentary elections, this party had received 49.8% of the vote.

The number of seats won this time exceeds the previous record of the political force, which in 2016 had secured 343 seats in the Duma.

Initially, United Russia’s general secretary Vladimir Yakushev stated that about 86 veterans of what Moscow calls the “special military operation” may have been elected to parliament. Then he corrected this estimate, bringing the number to 49 deputies.

These are the first parliamentary elections in Russia held after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The inclusion of veterans is seen as one of the new changes in the Duma’s composition, at a time when the war remains at the center of Russian political debate.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the result reflects broad support of Russian society for President Vladimir Putin. According to him, the votes show “the highest level of consolidation” of Russian society around the head of state.

Other parties that secured parliamentary representation also support the Kremlin’s policy toward Ukraine. The Communists won 40 seats, the LDPR took 25, while the New People Party secured 20 seats.

The vote has been criticized by Western governments, especially because of its conduct in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s high representative for foreign policy, called the elections a blow to Russian democracy. She said the Kremlin had limited political opposition and had kept international observers out.

Russia’s Supreme Court had banned the participation of Yabloko, a party that opposes the war. This decision limited the ability of anti-war voters to express their stance through the electoral process.

Critics of the war inside Russia have faced arrests and criminal proceedings. Anti-war bloggers and activists have been jailed, while politician Boris Nadezhdin, who aimed to run in the presidential elections with an anti-war platform, was excluded from the race and declared a “foreign agent”.

In this climate, all parties that entered the new parliament support, in various forms, the Kremlin’s military policy.

The elections were held as Russian and Ukrainian attacks were escalating. Russian forces have increased the use of drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities, while Ukraine has carried out strikes deep into Russian territory, including targets linked to the energy industry.

In Zaporizhzhia, a drone attack damaged a residential building, a university, a shopping center and a boiler, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Five people were wounded, while Ukrainian authorities reported that a woman was killed in another drone attack in the Kharkiv region. / The Guardian