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‘There are no decent parties left’: Sham elections underscore Putin’s grip on Russia
politico.eu • • world
Key Points:
- Russia is holding its first parliamentary elections since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the Kremlin narrowing the political field and barring the only openly anti-war party, Yabloko, from running a national list of candidates.
- The Kremlin promotes pro-war candidates, including over a thousand veterans of the Ukraine conflict, to project public support for the invasion, while opposition voices are silenced or imprisoned, such as Yabloko’s deputy chairman sentenced for “discrediting” the army.
- Opposition figures like Yulia Navalnaya urge voters to use “smart voting” to back candidates who are neutral or less supportive of the war in an effort to challenge Putin’s United Russia party, despite criticism from some opposition members who view this strategy as legitimizing the regime.
- The elections are widely seen as a propaganda exercise by the Kremlin to legitimize its war effort amid growing war fatigue and the impact of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, with the Kremlin controlling outcomes and suppressing dissenting voices.
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