Vladimir Putin defends legitimacy of Russian parliamentary elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with political party leaders on September 28, 2026, to review the results of the recent parliamentary elections held between September 18 and 20. Putin asserted that attempts by Western intelligence agencies to destabilize the electoral process and interfere in internal affairs failed completely.

He emphasized that high voter turnout across all 89 regions of Russia confirmed the legitimacy of the elections. Putin noted that the voting process demonstrated the resilience of the Russian people and their ability to determine their own future despite external pressures.

Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), reported significant cyber challenges during the voting period. The CEC recorded over 14.7 million cyber threats, including DDoS attacks that lasted for a total of 468 minutes, a volume of traffic higher than that seen during the previous presidential campaign.

International observers from at least 22 European countries attended the elections. For the first time, observers also monitored elections for the State Duma at polling stations located abroad.