Russia’s first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine begins tomorrow, with its only anti-war party barred and genuine competition all but eliminated

Russia's State Duma elections begin, running September 18-20, the first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with over 70% of sitting lawmakers seeking reelection and pro-government pollsters predicting United Russia will improve on its 2021 result.

Yabloko, the only anti-war party, had its registration overturned by the Supreme Court on what the report calls absurd grounds, while candidates elsewhere were disqualified after old social media posts mentioning Alexey Navalny surfaced and triggered 'extremist symbols' fines.

Television debates, mandated by law, largely became silence: candidates from United Russia and Kremlin-tolerated parties skipped them or sat mute, and channels sometimes cut away to footage of Putin or the prime minister instead. Opposition figures have floated protest-voting tactics, including a call to appear en masse at polling stations, though it's unclear how large that turnout will be.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.