Russia Votes In Wartime Parliamentary Election

Voting has begun in Russia’s parliamentary election with the main Kremlin party poised to retain its overwhelming grip on the lower house. The political and economic environment, however, has visibly changed 4½ years after the start of Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. Economic costs are increasing, Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistical facilities have inflicted massive damage, and the public, which no longer sees the fighting as something distant, is increasingly nervous and fatigued by the war. The challenges have prompted the Kremlin to stifle even the slightest signs of dissent ahead of the election — the first since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Voting started Friday in Russia’s Far East.