ReportNo anti-war party on Russia's ballot as two-thirds want peaceAired September 19, 2026 at 1:57 PM UTCWritten September 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:1110 parties are on Russia's ballot, not one opposes the war.0:16The vote is meant to prove national unity behind the invasion, but polling shows0:20nearly two-thirds of Russians now want peace talks.0:23So the question is, will voters turn out to endorse a war they are turning against?0:27This is Russia's first parliamentary election since it invaded Ukraine in February0:312022.0:32President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party is expected to dominate, and Moscow0:36has fielded veterans as candidates to signal public backing for the war.0:40There is no genuine anti-war alternative on the ballot.0:43The pro-peace Yabloko Party is barred from the vote entirely.0:46Since the ban, roughly 10,000 people have applied to join it.0:49A surge suggesting the removal of that voice has intensified, not erased, the demand0:53for it.0:54Every party permitted to run plays an assigned role in a system of managed0:58democracy.0:59The Communist Party, for instance, is on its 160th aid convoy, a show of solidarity1:03rather than a challenge.1:05Ukrainian drone strikes are bringing the war home to ordinary Russians, closing the1:09distance between the front and daily life.1:11That makes turnout the lever.1:13The Kremlin frames low turnout as a threat to its claim that the country stands1:17behind the war.1:17The emptier the stations, the less credible the assertion of national unity.1:21The published results are not yet known, and the question is whether Russians will1:24turn out to a vote with no anti-war option, and whether the numbers Moscow reports1:28afterward will be believed.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗