The Kremlin’s Sham Elections Manufacture Legitimacy in Occupied Ukraine - Institute for the Study of War

The Kremlin used the staged and manufactured 2026 State Duma elections in occupied Ukraine as a de facto referendum on Russian occupation, portraying participation in the election and support for United Russia as evidence of widespread acceptance of Russia’s illegal rule. The September 2026 State Duma elections are Russia’s nationwide parliamentary elections, during which Russians vote for 450 members of the Russian State Duma to serve five-year terms.[1] Half of the Duma’s 450 seats are voted on via a nation-wide party list, whereas the other half are decided via single-seat (also known as single-mandate) constituencies.