Putin braces for election stress test as Russians ‘feel the pain’ of struggling economy

Russian President Vladimir Putin is bracing for a wartime reckoning as the Kremlin prepares to hold its first parliamentary election since the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The tightly controlled vote, which takes place over a three-day period from Friday to Sunday, is widely expected to shore up the dominance of the ruling United Russia party in the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament. While the result is not in doubt, external observers will be paying close attention to voter turnout and the margin of United Russia's victory for any signs of public discontent after more than four-and-a-half years of war.