Russians Vote in Election Putin Cannot Lose
Russians Vote in Election Putin Cannot Lose
The News
Russians began voting Friday in a three-day parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin has framed as a barometer of public support for his war in Ukraine.
Polling stations opened early in Russia's Far East, kicking off a vote that Putin's party is all but guaranteed to win in the fifth year of the war, according to the Daily Mail.
It is the first election for Russia's State Duma since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. Deutsche Welle described the contest as a highly controlled affair in which Putin's party is expected to win.
Timeline
Moscow sends troops into Ukraine, launching a war now in its fifth year.
Polling stations open in Russia's Far East as the three-day State Duma election begins. It is the first parliamentary vote since the invasion.
Reactions
Putin has publicly cast the election as a measure of how far Russians back the war, Reuters reported.
Coverage of the vote has been blunt about its limits. Deutsche Welle called the election "controlled" and said the outcome for Putin's party is expected. The Daily Mail went further, describing a staged election Putin is guaranteed to win, with only parties that support his war allowed to enter.
What's Next
Voting runs for three days, wrapping up Sunday, with results to follow the close of polls.
The practical question is not who wins the Duma but what number the Kremlin claims — and how hard Putin leans on it as proof that the country is behind the war.
Poll
Does Russia's parliamentary election tell you anything real about public opinion there?
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