At least 148 candidates who were expected to receive State Duma seats based on preliminary election results had ties to Russia’s war against Ukraine that could be traced through open sources, Meduza calculated.
The outlet’s broad category of a “war faction” included not only direct participants in combat but also people involved in military infrastructure, unit training, medical assistance to service members, army supply efforts, or public support for the war.
Meduza emphasized that its count was based on the preliminary composition of parliament and could change as candidates declined mandates and seats were redistributed.
The Central Election Commission later announced the final results, with United Russia receiving 349 seats instead of the preliminary projection of 355. According to official commission data, 46 direct participants in the war received parliamentary mandates, 41 of them from United Russia.
That figure does not contradict Meduza’s count: the outlet used a substantially broader definition of ties to the war than official veteran status.