In September 2026, elections to the State Duma were held in Russia, attracting public attention not only within the country but also beyond its borders. According to data compiled by the publication ‘Meduza’, a third of the newly elected deputies are linked in one way or another to the military operations against Ukraine.
Ella Pamfilova, Chair of the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation, reported that 46 participants in the ‘special operation’ in Ukraine were elected to parliament, although the lists of the ruling United Russia party included 49 such candidates. These individuals have varied military backgrounds, ranging from commanders of combat units to tactical medicine instructors, such as Badma Bashankaev. Among them was also Vadim Logunov, who served in the occupied Kherson region.
Although many of these future MPs have the status of participants in the military campaign, journalists have emphasised that not all of them actually took part in combat operations. Furthermore, candidates with links to the war were elected to parliament from the LDPR and ‘Fair Russia’, including commander Oleg Chernyshev and military doctor Magomed Valikhov.
Some of the elected deputies are suspected of war crimes in Ukraine. Among them is Nursultan Mussagaleev, who is accused of crimes committed during the occupation of the Bucha district. Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, who was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in Ukraine, and the well-known political strategist Alexander Borodai were also elected to the Duma.
In addition to those who took part in the war, ‘Meduza’ highlights 94 candidates who support the military through fundraising and humanitarian aid. Among them are pro-war correspondents Yevgeny Poddubny and Irina Kuksenkova.
The elections were also held in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which provoked outrage among the Ukrainian authorities and the EU, who refused to recognise their legitimacy. Independent analysts have also criticised the elections for alleged fraud, claiming that the ruling party’s results were inflated through manipulation of turnout and votes. However, Russia’s Central Election Commission has rejected all allegations, insisting that there were few irregularities and that these had been successfully resolved.