Putin lost at some overseas polling stations in 2024. Here’s how Russians abroad can vote in this weekend’s State Duma elections.

Russia will hold elections for the ninth State Duma from September 18 to 20, 2026. The campaign’s biggest development has been the disqualification of Yabloko, the only anti-war party and one that had drawn enthusiastic support from young social media users. Even so, many Russians, including those who have left the country, still see the election as an opportunity to make their views heard. At some polling stations abroad, the Kremlin-backed party or candidate could lose. Vladimir Putin even lost at some polling stations in 2024. This guide explains how and where Russians can vote abroad.Deciding where and when to voteVoting will be available in 152 countries in 2026. Russia’s Central Election Commission plans to set up 319 polling stations, including at Russian Houses cultural centers. If your city or country has no polling station, you will probably need to travel. You will not be able to vote in Georgia, for example, but you could travel from there to Armenia or Turkey. To avoid problems, it is best to start planning now.You can find all polling stations abroad on Kovcheg’s map or the Central Election Commission’s website.Voting dates vary by country. Most polling stations abroad will be open for just one day, September 20. But several countries have different dates: September 17 in Israel, and September 19 in Bahrain, Kuwait, China, Iraq, and Yemen. The Central Election Commission said it changed the dates because September 20 is a workday in those countries.You should also check whether early voting is available. Early voting is available in 45 countries, including Mexico, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, and Japan. These countries have polling stations, but some Russians live too far away to reach them. You can check whether early voting is available in your country at this link. Keep in mind that voting has already taken place in some locations, while it will run for several days in others.Because mobile election teams and polling places operate on widely varying schedules, check official sources for the exact voting times in your area.Meduza’s sources close to the Kremlin say Putin’s team registered an antiwar party as an experiment and shut it down, banning Yabloko from the ballot, when the polling came backPreparing the necessary documentsMore precisely, one document. At the polling station, you will need an original document proving your identity and Russian citizenship. This can be:A Russian passport valid for international travel, preferably an unexpired one;A diplomatic or service passport;A certificate of return to Russia if, for example, you have lost your passport.You can obtain a certificate of return from any Russian diplomatic mission. This special document confirms the identity of a Russian citizen abroad whose documents have expired or who has no documents at all. It is valid for 15 days and, despite its name, does not require you to return to Russia. It takes one or two days to get one, so you may still have time before the election if necessary. To apply, bring two photographs, an application, and any documents confirming your identity to the consular section.You will not need anything else, including advance registration at a polling station abroad. Russian citizens are added to overseas voter rolls on election day after asking in person to be added — an oral request is enough — and presenting identification. Russian law explicitly provides for this simplified procedure.Plan for voting dayBecause all you need to do to vote is show up at a polling station on the designated date, the preparations are mostly practical. Be prepared for a possible line and, if you can, avoid scheduling important meetings or errands for the same day.It is best to arrive around the time the polling station opens. This will help you avoid the busiest period, meet like-minded people, and take part in the “Noon” campaign, which many organizations are urging people to join.Russians who can’t get to a polling station can try voting remotelyRussians who still have a registered address in Russia can use remote electronic voting if that address is in a region where the system is available. You can check whether your region is on the list here; the same link provides detailed instructions for voting remotely.There is one technical complication: Officially, you cannot vote while abroad. But if you use a VPN server located in Russia, the authorities will be unable to stop or punish you.‘A well-designed simulation’ Kremlin insiders on how they think Russia’s upcoming presidential election will unfoldAssessing the personal risksFor the vast majority of Russians, visiting a Russian diplomatic mission is completely safe. Anastasia Burakova, a lawyer and founder of the human rights organization Kovcheg, told Meduza that many people mistakenly believe embassy grounds are part of the country the embassy represents. They are not. This means Russian authorities cannot detain visitors there, she said:Russia cannot and does not conduct searches or other law-enforcement operations on embassy grounds or elsewhere in another country. No one has been dissolved in acid there, and no one has been kidnapped. They simply do not have the capacity for that. Even if you imagine someone being kidnapped, [that person] would then have to be taken somewhere — you wouldn’t keep them in the embassy; they couldn’t live there.People designated as “foreign agents” in Russia and those subject to military conscription can currently vote at polling stations abroad. No laws restricting these groups’ voting rights have yet been adopted.Article 32 of the Russian Constitution states: “Citizens who have been declared legally incompetent by a court, as well as those serving a prison sentence, do not have the right to vote or stand for election.” This restriction apparently does not apply to people convicted in absentia. Burakova believes that Russians facing political persecution can also vote at polling stations abroad.The only Russians who should never visit diplomatic missions are asylum-seekers and people with refugee status. Any interaction with their home country’s authorities could result in the loss of that status, Burakova said: “If you are in contact with your country’s government agencies, that suggests the country is not so unsafe for you after all. That is why we strongly advise against it. [Visiting a polling station abroad] could have consequences. Such cases are very rare, but they do happen.”At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.Yekaterina Mezentseva