Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Over the summer, Ukraine and analysts have warned that the Kremlin planned to use the election as a stepping stone for a mobilization of up to 500,000 reservists.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the election for the Duma last weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the election outcome during a televised speech on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
He insisted the results showed clear national approval for the war in Ukraine and ongoing security policies.
The three-day parliamentary contest wrapped up on September 20, ending a race that Kremlin officials framed as a direct test of public backing for the four-and-a-half-year military campaign. Putin had explicitly set the election up as a measure of support for his military goals.
According to Russia’s Central Electoral Commission, voter turnout reached 59.3 percent across the country. State news agency TASS noted that this participation rate topped turnout levels seen in the most recent lower house elections.
Addressing the nation, Putin pointed to the turnout as a clear sign of unity.
According to Reuters, he said, “Such a high, even record, number of people who came out and voted shows that the people of Russia support our efforts aimed at strengthening the country.”
Words to the front
During the broadcast, the Russian leader turned his attention directly to troops fighting on the front lines in Ukraine. He tied their battlefield efforts straight to the ballot box.
He offered direct praise to those in uniform. “This vote is for you. People believe in you, believe in our victory, believe in your courage, in your heroism,” Putin stated.
The final vote tally solidified the ruling party’s grip on power. Near-complete results released on Monday showed United Russia secured over 57 percent of the popular vote, as reported by Reuters.
That result gives the pro-Putin party 355 out of 450 seats in the State Duma. That nearly 80-percent share marks a record high in an election, where most anti-war candidates had been barred from running.
Fear of new mobilization coming
Ukraine and international observers had warned months before the election that the Kremlin would use the result to underscore public support for the grinding war in Ukraine, which will reach five years of fighting in February 2027.
Following the election, anxiety among reservists is starting to climb, according to The Moscow Times.
When the Kremlin called up 300,000 reservists back in September 2022, in what was Russia’s first mobilization since the Second World War, tens of thousands of Russians protested across the country.
Estimates on the scale of the suspected mobilization vary, but according to a report from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), the new mobilization will start in October and call up as many as 500,000 Russians.
