General
Putin-aligned party wins sham elections in Russia
United Russia, the pro-Kremlin ruling party, secured a record 355 of 450 seats in the Russian State Duma following preliminary results showing 57.83 percent of the vote after 95 percent of ballots were counted. The Central Election Commission announced the outcome with a voter turnout of over 56 percent, while other pro-government parties like the Communist Party and LDPR also gained representation. Opposition groups, including Jabloko, which opposes the war in Ukraine, were barred from participating, leading to expected victories for Kremlin-aligned factions. These elections, held from Friday to Sunday, mark the first Duma polls since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, occurring without independent oversight amid historical concerns about electoral fraud.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's