Russians vote as Ukraine war drags on for fifth year

Although few Russians doubt that Putin’s United Russia party will cruise to victory again, the vote offers a measure of public support for the war.(AFP) — Russians began voting Friday in a tightly controlled three-day election expected to tighten President Vladimir Putin’s 26-year grip on power as the country enters its fifth year of war with Ukraine.It is Russia’s first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, setting off a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin’s military campaign have been registered to run. Moscow has also organized voting in occupied areas of Ukraine.The European Union condemned the election, saying “repression” had been used to eliminate opposition, while a Council of Europe body denounced the vote as “fake.”Although few Russians doubt that Putin’s United Russia party will cruise to victory again, the vote offers a measure of public support for the war.Voting for all 450 seats in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, runs until 6 p.m. GMT Sunday.Putin has ruled Russia since 1999, and his party has dominated its politics since the early 2000s.Moscow has banned criticism of its military campaign in Ukraine, and elections under Putin rarely produce surprises.Putin called on Russians to vote to show their support for Moscow’s troops and deliver an “answer to those who want to weaken Russia.”The Kremlin released footage of the 73-year-old president voting online — a rare depiction of the longtime leader using technology.On Moscow’s streets, several voters told AFP they wanted the war in Ukraine to end, but on Russia’s terms, backing Putin’s goals.‘FULLY FOR THE SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION’Rail worker Sergei Korenets, 41, said he would support United Russia, voting for “stability” — echoing Putin’s main slogan.Asked whether 4 1/2 years of war amounted to “stability,” Korenets said: “Of course, I want all this (the war) to end as quickly as possible.”But he said he did not want change at home because “I am satisfied from the point of view of my financial situation.”Despite sweeping Western sanctions, Russia’s economy has not collapsed, and life in the capital remains relatively normal, even as Moscow bombards Ukrainian cities daily.United Russia faces only parties that broadly support Putin’s policies and the war: the Communist Party, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, A Just Russia and New People.Yabloko, which called for an end to the fighting, was barred from running shortly before the election. One of its leading figures, Lev Shlosberg, was imprisoned for criticizing the war.Since 2022, Russia has introduced Soviet-style censorship and jailed critics of the war.“I am fully for the special military operation,” Lyubov, 55, told AFP in Moscow, using the Kremlin’s term for its offensive.“NATO cannot be at our borders,” she added, repeating one of Putin’s justifications for launching the war.But she criticized some social policies and said she was still upset by Putin’s decision several years ago to raise the retirement age. She said she wanted a “return to the Soviet economic system.”Older voters are among Putin’s strongest supporters, although many complain about living standards.MOBILIZATION FEARSSome Russians fear the postelection period will bring a new military mobilization similar to the 2022 call-up of 300,000 reservists. The deeply unpopular move triggered a mass exodus of draft-age men.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of planning a new mobilization drive, an allegation Putin has denied.Ukrainian strikes have caused increased disruption this year, reaching as far as Siberia and the Ural Mountains.Most of Putin’s political opponents have been driven into exile. His main political opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison in 2024.Russia’s exiled opposition has urged anti-Kremlin Russians not to boycott the election but instead to vote “against Putin’s party.”Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, called on Russians who oppose the war to cast their ballots at noon Sunday.Yabloko disagrees, arguing that it would be better not to vote.“You are suggesting that we once again go, like sheep, dancing to their tune, and vote for those who have caused the deaths of people in Russia and Ukraine?” party Chairman Nikolay Rybakov said this week.But Yekaterina, a 26-year-old Moscow voter who has lived her entire life under Putin’s rule, saw no reason for political change and was undeterred by the war.“I still trust my president,” she told AFP.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads