United Russia won 57.83% of the party-list vote and 355 of the State Duma's 450 seats in Russia's first wartime parliamentary election, securing a constitutional supermajority that exceeds its previous record of 343 seats set in 2016 [2][7][16]. Turnout reached approximately 59% (59.32% by the Central Election Commission's count), the highest for a Duma election since 2003 according to the Moscow Times, though commission chair Ella Pamfilova called it the highest turnout ever recorded for an election of this level [16][21][30]. The three-day vote, held September 18–20, was the first to include residents of the four Ukrainian regions Russia annexed in 2022 and Crimea [7][34].
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the results point to "the highest level of consolidation within Russian society around the head of state" [6][13]. Pamfilova said the campaign passed «максимально чисто и спокойно» (maximally cleanly and calmly) despite what she described as psychological pressure on Russia, and credited security services with ensuring the vote's integrity after more than 100 million cyberattack attempts were blocked [4][6][40]. Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said high turnout was «свидетельство КОНСОЛИДАЦИИ НАШЕГО ОБЩЕСТВА» (evidence of the consolidation of our society) and that 1,126 international observers from 133 countries confirmed the vote's legitimacy [41]. President Vladimir Putin had framed the election as a test of public support for the war, telling voters their choice would show "millions of people are backing our fighters" [2][15]. Forty-nine veterans of the war in Ukraine will enter the new Duma as part of United Russia's list, which the party's general secretary Vladimir Yakushev called "a substantial contribution" [13][40]. China's Foreign Ministry congratulated Russia, with spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying the result «反映了俄罗斯人民的意愿» (reflects the will of the Russian people) [44].
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed the "so-called" election, saying the Kremlin "silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine, and shut out international election monitors," leaving only "a veneer of democracy" [6][18][30]. OSCE Parliamentary Assembly president Pere Joan Pons said Russia's refusal to invite an OSCE observation mission was "a serious breach" of its commitments, and ODIHR director Maria Telalian called the decision "deeply regrettable" and part of a continuing pattern [24][36]. Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called the vote "a political spectacle designed to entrench Vladimir Putin's rule" [32]. France's Foreign Ministry said it "absolutely does not recognize" the elections and deplored that conditions for a free, pluralist vote «n'aient à nouveau pas été réunies» (had again not been met) [22][30].
The Yabloko party, the only registered formation with an anti-war platform, was removed from the federal party list by Russia's Supreme Court 12 days after its registration [5][34]. Party leader Nikolai Rybakov spoiled his ballot, writing «Яблоко, за мир» (Yabloko, for peace), and said the new Duma would back Putin completely because all ten parties on the ballot supported his policies [3][5][10]. The Berlin-based think tank NEST noted that votes for the systemic opposition — the Communist Party and New People — may amount to "a silent protest" as wartime anxiety finds expression through the parties the Kremlin allowed on the ballot [3][11]. Carnegie analyst Tatyana Stanovaya said Putin would interpret the result as confirmation of war support "even though it is not the case: the overall demand for ending the war is growing" [24].
Ukraine, its institutions, and Western governments rejected the holding of elections in occupied Ukrainian territories as legally null. A joint statement by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom said the occupied regions "are part of Ukraine and holding sham elections cannot alter the status of these territories under international law" [15][30]. The EU announced sanctions against those involved in organizing votes in the occupied territories [21][35]. Ukraine's Central Election Commission said the results and mandates created no legal consequences, and the ZMINA Human Rights Center's advocacy director Alona Lunova warned the vote could be used to identify disloyal residents [38][39]. A coalition of Ukrainian rights organizations appealed to residents not to participate, saying «Ми закликаємо жителів тимчасово окупованих територій насамперед берегти своє життя» (We call on residents of temporarily occupied territories above all to protect their lives) [39]. Occupation authorities in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic deployed more than 6,000 people to staff election commissions, and Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said the Putin administration set a target of 65–70% turnout and a 70% result for United Russia in the occupied territories [38][39]. Official turnout in the annexed Donetsk and Luhansk regions reached approximately 80% [9], though Free Radio collected chat comments from residents of the occupied territories who said they only learned of the vote after it had taken place, and one reported appearing three times on voter lists [38].
Russian election monitors and statisticians documented what they described as systematic manipulation. Electoral statistician Ivan Shukshin wrote about statistical signs of falsification in interim turnout figures in St Petersburg, Dagestan, and Krasnodar [40]. The citizen monitoring platform "Elections 2026 — Let's Observe Together!" registered more than 900 complaints by Sunday evening [27]. The independent monitoring body Golos was dissolved in July 2025 after its co-chair Grigory Melkonyants was sentenced to five years in prison [27]. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov complained that preliminary polls showed his party at 18–30% while it received about 14%, saying the official tables «не отражают никакой тенденции и реальной картины» (do not reflect any tendency and the real picture) [29]. Independent exit polls by the "Vote Abroad" project and the Vesna and Progress movements found New People leading at Russian polling stations abroad with 42.8% and 47.4%, contradicting the Central Election Commission's tally showing United Russia winning abroad with 39.58% [17]. The Communist Party in Altai denounced pressure on public-sector employees to vote under threat of dismissal [27]. Berlin-based observer Nicolaï of the Russian Election Monitor argued that «L'autocratie russe a évidemment besoin de différents outils pour se légitimer» (The Russian autocracy obviously needs different tools to legitimize itself) and that manipulation compounds at every level so officials at the top may not know the real results [20].
On the final day of voting, Ukraine launched what Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin called the largest drone attack on the capital since the war began, with about 1,600 drones intercepted including 450 aimed at Moscow [4][26]. The strikes killed at least five people — three in the Moscow region and two in Russian-held Kherson — and damaged the Moscow oil refinery [11][14][26]. Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses destroyed 1,951 drones and eight cruise missiles in 24 hours and vowed to intensify strikes on Kyiv in response [4][19]. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the operation, saying Ukraine's long-range retaliation had «খুবই উল্লেখযোগ্য প্রভাব» (a very notable effect) and disclosing the use of a Pelican weapon and domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles [19][26]. Ukrainian military commander Syrskyi said Ukraine had gained the upper hand in the drone war [28].
Ukrainian officials and analysts expect the Kremlin to launch a new mobilization wave now that the election is over. Ukrainian intelligence estimates Russia's General Staff is prepared to mobilize around 300,000 personnel in each of 2026 and 2027 [28]. Putin called reports of a looming mobilization "nonsense," and Peskov dismissed them as "fabricated stories" spread by Ukraine to destabilize Russia [5][28]. Conscientious-objector lawyer Artem Klyga said the Kremlin would likely pursue "half-measures and give each step a separate justification" [28]. Zelenskyy said de-escalation steps on energy and food security "are on the table" and that "what is needed is political will," while US President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities, after reportedly urging Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries [15][19][26].
Final results are due no later than October 5, according to Pamfilova [16]. The new Duma will convene with United Russia holding its largest-ever majority and 49 war veterans among its members [13][16].