Russia is holding a parliamentary election this weekend to elect 450 deputies to the Duma, the lower house of parliament. The election is anticipated to deliver a parliament dominated by United Russia, the party of power, and MPs loyal to President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently stated, "We have our own political system, our own political process." The Kremlin intends to use the election to claim that most Russians support the president and the war in Ukraine. Officials also say that nearly 200 war veterans are participating in the election.
The Yabloko party, which called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, was removed from the ballot by the Supreme Court in July. Some Yabloko candidates are still running in individual constituency races, though a growing number have reportedly been detained by police and barred from the election in recent weeks.