Russia's 2026 parliamentary election: What to watch

Russia will hold parliamentary elections from 18 to 20 September 2026, the country's first State Duma vote since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

All 450 seats in the lower house are at stake, with attention focused on the ruling United Russia party's performance, opposition participation and voting in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.

Who is being elected?

Voters will elect all 450 State Duma deputies for five-year terms. Half the seats will be allocated through a nationwide party-list vote, while the other 225 will be decided in single-member constituencies.

A late-August survey by state pollster VTsIOM put United Russia well ahead of its rivals, with 37.2 per cent support among respondents. The Communist Party followed with 11.6 per cent.

United Russia currently holds 310 seats. Its final seat count will be closely watched, as it needs at least 300 seats to retain the constitutional supermajority that allows it to approve constitutional changes without support from other parties.

Four other parties are expected to return to the Duma, including the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.

The Supreme Court has barred the liberal Yabloko party from the party-list ballot, although some of its candidates remain eligible to run in single-member constituencies.

What will observers watch?

Russia has not invited the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the 2026 parliamentary election.

The OSCE has raised concerns over Russia's decision not to invite observers and has previously pointed to restrictions affecting candidates, campaign financing and scrutiny of the electoral process.

Russian authorities have rejected criticism of the electoral process, saying the election is being conducted in accordance with Russian law.

Voting is also due to take place in Crimea and Russian-controlled parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.

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Russia Russian elections State Duma Vladimir Putin Ukraine War Russian opposition elections