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Russian parliamentary elections and legitimacy claims

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2026-09-28 23:53 UTC → 2026-09-29 19:05 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Following the Russian parliamentary elections held between September 18 and 20, 2026, President Vladimir Putin met with political leaders and the Central Election Commission to review the results. Putin defended the legitimacy of the State Duma elections, asserting that the process confirmed the validity of Russia’s executive and representative government bodies. Putin claimed that Western intelligence agencies attempted to destabilize the electoral process and interfere in internal affairs, but he maintained these efforts failed. Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Election Commission, reported a record voter turnout of 59.8%, the highest participation rate in three consecutive election cycles since 2016. The election period was marked by significant technical challenges. The Central Election Commission recorded over 14.7 million cyber threats, including DDoS attacks totaling 468 minutes of disruption, which exceeded the volume of traffic seen during the previous presidential campaign. International observers from at least 22 European countries monitored the proceedings, including for the first time at polling stations located abroad. On September 28, Putin declared the Russian people invincible, stating the elections demonstrated national resilience against attempts to disrupt the process through “terrorist methods and instruments of foreign intelligence services.” The election coincided with an “unprecedented” Ukrainian drone raid involving over 1,600 UAVs targeting Moscow and other regions, resulting in at least two civilian deaths in the Moscow area. The ruling United Russia party secured 355 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. Putin noted the turnout provided “indisputable, unquestionable legitimacy” to the results, reflecting support for Russian troops as candidates involved in the Ukraine conflict won seats. Concurrently, Putin signed a decree increasing the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 2,441,630 personnel.

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