Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is set to retain power after winning the country’s recent parliamentary election. The voting took place from Friday, September 18, to Sunday, September 20, with results published by state media projecting a landslide victory.

With 90.43% of ballots counted, TASS reported that the turnout was under 57%. It also stated that United Russia had 57.86% of the vote, followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 13.84%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with 8.9%, New People with 7.94% and A Just Russia with 4.95%.

The process serves to elect members to the lower house of parliament, also known as the State Duma, granting authority to amend the constitution. It was the first election of its kind since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the Kremlin positioned it as a chance for the population to have their say on the war. Putin urged people to take part and cast their vote in support of the troops as an “answer to those who want to weaken Russia”.

The voting was also open to residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed in 2022: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, as well as those in Crimea, which was been under occupation since 2014. 

The anti-war Yabloko party had most of its candidates barred from running in the election by the Supreme Court in Russia, but some remained on the ballot in single-mandate constituencies. Furthermore, two senior figures had been handed lengthy jail terms due to comments made in opposition to Putin’s government, causing other members to fear for their freedom.

Still, Yabloko’s leader Nikolai Rybakov showed up to vote, spoiling his paper by writing his party’s name and “For peace”.

As elections continued on Sunday, Ukraine fired drones at Moscow and the surrounding region, killing two people and setting an oil refinery alight. Russia’s defence military vowed to respond with intensified strikes on Kyiv, and accused Ukraine of attempting to “disrupt the democratic will” of their citizens.

With United Russia retaining power, the country’s LGBTQ+ community remains at risk. Putin’s government has introduced a series of laws to suppress the rights of LGBTQ+ people and bolster so-called “traditional values”.

The ‘LGBT movement’ was banned by the Supreme Court in November 2023, with at least 11 organisations labelled as “extremist” since then. The designation criminalises participation in and support of these groups, with the Russian LGBT Network forced to shut down earlier this year in the interest of safety.