Politics
Voting opens in Russia's parliamentary elections, first since Ukraine invasion
September 18, 2026 at 06:28 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 3 hours
Russia has opened three days of parliamentary voting in the first State Duma election since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin casting his ballot online.
- Polling for the 450-seat State Duma runs from 18 until 20 September, after the Central Election Commission approved the three-day voting format.
- Putin voted online through Moscow's official portal on the opening day.
- Yabloko, the only anti-war party, was excluded from the party-list ballot by the Supreme Court in August, though its candidates may contest individual districts.
- The Russian Public Opinion Research Center's polls show more than 76 percent of Russians expect the ruling United Russia party to win.