Russia's elections had few surprises - but how the Kremlin uses the results is far from clear
Russia's parliamentary elections resulted in a predictable victory for the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, maintaining its constitutional majority. The exclusion of the only anti-war party, Yabloko, ensured that the new Duma remains fully aligned with President Putin's policies.
Why it matters
It underscores the consolidation of political power in Russia and the lack of institutional opposition to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Figure caption, 'No surprises' as results emerge in Russian parliamentary election
Many things about Russia are hard to predict.
The result of this election wasn't one of them.
In a political system tightly controlled by the Kremlin, the party of power – United Russia –had been widely expected to remain the largest in parliament by a large margin.
There were no upsets. No surprises. No other party came close.
Preliminary results suggest that United Russia, which is supported by President Putin, is on course to retain its constitutional majority in the State Duma - with even bigger numbers than last time round.
And that's after more than four-and-half years of war on Ukraine, which have resulted in massive battlefield losses for the Russian army, economic difficulties and, most recently, widespread petrol shortages due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities.
Also covering this story
20 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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