Voting in Russia’s three-day State Duma election began on September 18, the first federal parliamentary election since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Voting was held from September 18 through September 20. Russian authorities also organized voting in occupied territories of Ukraine, results that Ukraine and the European Union do not recognize.
Independent observers and rights groups reported that observers were denied access to some polling stations, faced restrictions on their work, and that there were cases of administrative pressure to participate in voting.
After all three days of voting, OVD-Info and the Elections 2026 project counted 590 reports of administrative pressure, including 409 during the voting period itself. OVD-Info also recorded 18 reports of detentions. Some reports that circulated during the first hours of voting were later found to be inaccurate, meaning each specific allegation requires independent verification.