Empty podiums, prizes for e-voting, no opposition: Russians head to the polls amid intensifying war in Ukraine

Natalia Kolesnikova/Anadolu/Getty Images

“The candidates have not shown up at our studio, so I’ll say goodbye for now.” Elizaveta Dorokhina, a Russia-1 state TV anchor, told viewers, with three empty podiums visible either side of her in the studio. The broadcast switched to a commercial break.

All six registered candidates in Ryazan, a city 122 miles southeast of the Russian capital, had failed to turn up for a televised debate ahead of upcoming elections.

Russia is holding parliamentary elections, the first since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in a political landscape in which critical opposition is effectively nonexistent, with opponents barred or having fled the country. Voters will elect 450 members of the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – as well as regional and municipal heads.

The empty studio offers a window into the democratic ritual Russia is so keen to put on display: the candidates, the debates, the appearance of choice. Projecting stability and an image of due processes has become a cornerstone of President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

The voting will take place over a three-day period starting Friday. The United Russia party, which backs Putin and has dominated domestic Russian politics for over 20 years, is widely expected to win a majority of seats. Among the areas voting are Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine – in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Russia’s only registered anti-war party, Yabloko – “apple” in Russian – was briefly allowed to take part before being barred by the Supreme Court last month.

Grigory Yavlinsky, a co-founder of Yabloko and a prominent liberal Russian politician, told CNN that the Kremlin was taken aback by support for the party and its core message calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

Although Putin is not on the ballot himself, Russia’s leader of more than two decades casts a long shadow over its politics.

“The Russian political system is a rigid, personalistic regime with institutions that are imitational,” Andrei Kolesnikov, a Moscow-based political analyst and columnist for The New Times and Novaya Gazeta told CNN.

“Elections have no impact whatsoever on the nature of policy, which is predetermined. Their main purpose is to demonstrate to the public the ‘majority effect’: everyone is ‘for’ Putin’s policies, and those who oppose them are outcasts and enemies,” Kolesnikov added, who’s been labeled a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.

The vote is taking place amid a backdrop of creeping social tensions in Russia, as the Kremlin continues to propagate a war in Ukraine – now in its fifth year. Internet restrictions and a crackdown on civil society and dissent are impacting many Russians, even as Ukraine’s long-range strikes bring the war home to them in a new way.

Kyiv’s drone attacks deep into Russian territory, designed to push the Kremlin into negotiations, have shattered the illusion that the consequences of what Moscow calls the “special military operation” are far removed from ordinary Russians.

Some have resulted in loss of life and injuries (although nowhere near on the scale seen in Ukraine), but crucially, strikes on the country’s oil refineries have led to widespread fuel shortages, with queues of cars forming in major cities, while hits on Russia’s largest online retailers have increased pressure on the already strained wartime economy.

That apprehension was reflected in the mood of voters in Moscow on a cold, crisp September day a week before the elections. Raisa, a voter in Moscow who, like everyone CNN spoke with, declined to give her full name, said she wanted “worthy people” elected who would “think about simple people” and their needs. When asked what she hopes the future will be like, she said, “I’d probably say what many people would: peaceful. I really want it all to end,” delicately nodding to the war.

Marina Alexandrovna, 73, told CNN she was undecided who to vote for but that she “always votes,” adding: “It’s not who votes that matters, but who counts the votes.” Regarding the current political climate in Russia, “we know what life is, what laws are being passed. I don’t like it, but there’s nothing we can change,” she said.

Authorities in Moscow have introduced material incentives for residents of the capital in the form of points for prizes, if they vote either online or at an electronic voting terminal at a polling station, rather than casting a paper ballot. Critics have long been suspicious of the Kremlin’s introduction of electronic voting because they argue it’s less transparent.

A key distinction of these elections is that 186 veterans of the war in Ukraine are standing as candidates for State Duma, with more than 1,500 former servicemen also running for regional and municipal positions. This follows the launch of the “Time of Heroes” program by Putin in 2024 to train battle-hardened veterans for government and public servant roles. None of the war veteran candidates to whom CNN reached out wished to be interviewed.

Ramil Sitdikov/Reuters

Arguably, who has been excluded from the ballot says more than the candidates who are allowed to participate.

Yabloko was struck off only days after being registered for the election after a pro-Kremlin nationalist party, Rodina (Motherland in Russian), brought a lawsuit against the party alleging foreign financing and copyright violations. Yabloko’s leadership argues the move was politically motivated.

At the party’s headquarters in Moscow, a running counter records the number of days that have passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, next to a copy of a painting showing a pyramid of human skulls beneath circling crows by Vasily Vereshchagin. The 19th-century Russian painter became famous for his depictions of the horror of war. The image feels like a private memorial to Russia’s quashed anti-war movement.

The Kremlin’s decision originally to allow Yabloko to stand in the parliamentary elections was a “low-risk experiment,” said Irina Busygina, a Russian political scientist now based in Berlin.

Busygina believes once the Kremlin’s political operators saw a spike in online interest in Yabloko, with its calls for a peace deal with Ukraine, especially among the younger generations, they moved to neutralize the party, which had registered hundreds of candidates across the country.

“(Putin) was not prepared for the situation where a liberal democratic party like Yabloko would have such strong support in the country,” co-founder Yavlinsky said.

“We have no democracy in Russia yet. We started our reforms 30 years ago but failed completely, and that’s why we have an authoritarian system which is not prepared for democratic elections.”

Yavlinsky added that those who are allowed to run in the elections are “100% supporting the current political line of the Kremlin,” whereas Yabloko is an opponent calling “for an alternative, to move to immediate ceasefire and negotiations with Ukraine, Europe, and with the United States.”

Yavlinsky, who has spent 35 years in Russian politics, doesn’t expect any surprises in these elections, but said he hoped Russia would start diplomatic negotiations urgently. Moscow must “find common language with Europe, with Ukraine, with the US, because it’s the only way forward. It is necessary to avoid the possibility of nuclear war,” he said.

Observers may question the point of holding elections where no meaningful opposition is allowed and the result appears largely predetermined.

Russia has long criticized Ukraine’s lack of war-time elections, going so far as to refer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “illegitimate” because he has outstayed his term and not called an election. Zelensky says holding elections while Ukraine is embroiled in the war is “impossible.” Ukraine’s constitution bars elections from being held under martial law, which was introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Experts agree overwhelmingly the election results will be used to strengthen Putin’s mandate during war time. Russian social media channels have been rife with rumors of a further mobilization post-elections to shore up Russia’s manpower in Ukraine – something the Kremlin vehemently denies.

According to Kolesnikov, “the elections will be presented as further legitimization of the special (military) operation and of the most brutal internal political repression and restrictions on citizens’ rights, which are now far more severe than anything seen in the late Soviet era.”

But on the streets of Moscow, some remain optimistic that the future will be brighter. Sixty-three-year-old Oleg said he hoped “some stability will emerge for ordinary people… and that, going forward, our ties with good people abroad will improve. In both the West and the East.”

Putin’s continued emphasis on addressing the war’s “root causes” and achieving his original goals – including demilitarizing and subjugating Ukraine – suggests that may be a long way off.

Ana Archen and Darya Tarasova contributed to this report.

娜塔莉亚·科列斯尼科娃/阿纳多卢/盖蒂图片社

“候选人还没来我们演播室，那我就先告别了。”俄罗斯第一电视台主播伊丽莎维塔·多罗希娜对观众说道，演播室里她两侧可以看到三个空荡荡的讲台。随后，节目进入广告时段。

在俄罗斯首都东南 122 英里（约 190 公里）的梁赞市，所有六名登记候选人都未出席即将到来的选举前的电视辩论。

俄罗斯正在举行议会选举，这是自全面入侵乌克兰以来的首次选举。在当前政治环境下，真正的反对派几乎不存在，反对者要么被禁止参选，要么已经逃离该国。选民将选举产生450名国家杜马（俄罗斯议会下院）议员，以及各地区和市政领导人。

空荡荡的演播室展现了俄罗斯极力推崇的民主仪式：候选人、辩论、以及表面上的选择权。营造稳定和正当程序的形象已成为弗拉基米尔·普京总统治下俄罗斯的基石。

投票将于周五开始，为期三天。支持普京并已主导俄罗斯国内政坛超过20年的统一俄罗斯党，预计将赢得多数席位。投票地区包括乌克兰境内由俄罗斯控制的部分地区，例如克里米亚、顿涅茨克、卢甘斯克、赫尔松和扎波罗热。

俄罗斯唯一注册的反战政党“亚布洛科”（俄语意为“苹果”）曾短暂获准参加，但上个月被最高法院禁止参选。

Yabloko 的联合创始人、俄罗斯著名自由派政治家格里戈里·亚夫林斯基告诉 CNN，克里姆林宫对该党及其呼吁乌克兰停火的核心信息的支持感到震惊。

Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

尽管普京本人并未参选，但这位执政二十余年的俄罗斯领导人对俄罗斯政坛的影响依然深远。

“俄罗斯的政治体制是一个僵化的、个人主义的政权，其机构都是模仿性的，”莫斯科政治分析家、《新时代报》和《新报》专栏作家安德烈·科列斯尼科夫告诉 CNN。

科列斯尼科夫补充说：“选举对政策的性质没有任何影响，政策是预先决定的。选举的主要目的是向公众展示‘多数效应’：每个人都‘支持’普京的政策，而那些反对这些政策的人则是被排斥的敌人。”科列斯尼科夫已被俄罗斯当局贴上了“外国代理人”的标签。

此次投票正值俄罗斯社会紧张局势不断升级之际，克里姆林宫仍在持续煽动乌克兰战争——这场战争如今已进入第五年。互联网限制和对公民社会及异议人士的镇压正在影响着许多俄罗斯人，而乌克兰的远程打击也以一种新的方式将战争的阴影笼罩在他们身边。

基辅对俄罗斯领土深处发动的无人机袭击，旨在迫使克里姆林宫进行谈判，这打破了莫斯科所谓的“特殊军事行动”的后果与普通俄罗斯人相距甚远的幻想。

有些袭击造成了人员伤亡（尽管远不及乌克兰的规模），但至关重要的是，对该国炼油厂的罢工导致大范围燃料短缺，各大城市都出现了汽车排队的现象，而对俄罗斯最大的在线零售商的袭击则加剧了本已紧张的战时经济的压力。

这种忧虑反映在莫斯科选民的情绪中。选举前一周，在一个寒冷清爽的九月天，选民们的情绪也随之波动。一位名叫赖莎的莫斯科选民（和所有接受CNN采访的人一样，她拒绝透露全名）表示，她希望选出“称职的人”，让他们“为普通民众着想”，并考虑他们的需求。当被问及她对未来的期许时，她说：“我大概会和很多人一样说：和平。我真的希望这一切都结束。”她委婉地点了点头，似乎在暗示战争。

73岁的玛丽娜·亚历山德罗夫娜告诉CNN，她还没决定投谁的票，但她“总是会投票”，并补充说：“重要的不是谁投票，而是谁计票。” 谈到俄罗斯当前的政治局势，她说：“我们知道现在的生活是什么样的，也知道正在通过哪些法律。我不喜欢这样，但我们无力改变。”

莫斯科当局推出了一系列激励措施，鼓励首都居民通过网络投票或在投票站的电子投票终端投票，而非纸质选票，以积分形式兑换奖品。批评人士长期以来一直对克里姆林宫推行电子投票持怀疑态度，认为这种方式透明度较低。

此次选举的一个显著特点是，186名乌克兰战争老兵作为候选人角逐国家杜马，另有超过1500名退伍军人竞选地区和市政职位。此前，普京于2024年启动了“英雄时代”计划，旨在培训身经百战的老兵担任政府和公务员职务。CNN联系的所有退伍军人候选人均拒绝接受采访。

拉米尔·西特迪科夫/路透社

可以说，被排除在候选名单之外的人比被允许参选的候选人更能说明问题。

在注册参选仅数日后，亲克里姆林宫的民族主义政党“祖国党”（Rodina）提起诉讼，指控“亚博卢党”接受外国资金资助并侵犯版权，该党随即被注销党籍。“亚博卢党”领导层则认为此举是出于政治动机。

在莫斯科的党总部，一个倒计时计数器记录着自2022年2月俄罗斯全面入侵以来经过的天数，旁边挂着一幅瓦西里·韦列夏金的画作复制品，画中描绘了一群乌鸦盘旋在一座由人类头骨堆成的金字塔下。这位19世纪的俄罗斯画家以描绘战争的恐怖而闻名。这幅画仿佛是对俄罗斯被镇压的反战运动的私人纪念。

现居柏林的俄罗斯政治学家伊琳娜·布西吉娜表示，克里姆林宫最初允许“亚博卢”党参加议会选举的决定是一项“低风险的尝试”。

布西吉娜认为，克里姆林宫的政治操盘手看到“亚博卢”党在网上引发了广泛关注，尤其是在年轻一代中，该党呼吁与乌克兰达成和平协议，于是他们便着手削弱这个在全国各地登记了数百名候选人的政党。

“（普京）没有预料到像亚博卢这样的自由民主党会在国内获得如此强大的支持，”联合创始人亚夫林斯基说。

“俄罗斯还没有真正的民主。我们30年前就开始改革，但彻底失败了，所以我们现在实行的是威权体制，根本不适合举行民主选举。”

亚夫林斯基补充说，那些被允许参加选举的人“百分之百支持克里姆林宫目前的政治路线”，而“亚博卢”则是一个反对派，呼吁“寻求替代方案，立即停火并与乌克兰、欧洲和美国进行谈判”。

在俄罗斯政坛摸爬滚打了35年的亚夫林斯基预计此次选举不会出现任何意外，但他表示希望俄罗斯尽快启动外交谈判。他说，莫斯科必须“与欧洲、乌克兰和美国找到共同语言，因为这是唯一的出路。必须避免核战争的可能性。”

观察人士可能会质疑，在不允许任何有意义的反对派存在，且选举结果似乎很大程度上是预先决定的情况下，举行选举的意义何在。

俄罗斯长期以来一直批评乌克兰在战时没有举行选举，甚至称乌克兰总统泽连斯基“不合法”，因为他任期已满却未举行选举。泽连斯基则表示，在乌克兰深陷战争泥潭的情况下举行选举“是不可能的”。乌克兰宪法禁止在戒严令下举行选举，而戒严令是在2022年俄罗斯全面入侵后实施的。

专家们普遍认为，此次选举结果将被用来巩固普京在战时的统治地位。俄罗斯社交媒体上充斥着选举后将进一步动员兵力以加强俄罗斯在乌克兰兵力部署的传言——克里姆林宫对此予以强烈否认。

科列斯尼科夫表示，“这些选举将被视为进一步证实特别（军事）行动的合法性，以及对公民权利进行最残酷的内部政治镇压和限制，而这些镇压和限制比苏联后期所见到的任何事情都要严重得多。”

但在莫斯科街头，一些人仍然乐观地认为未来会更加光明。63岁的奥列格说，他希望“普通民众的生活能够稳定下来……并且，展望未来，我们与国外善良人士的关系能够改善，无论在西方还是东方。”

普京持续强调解决战争的“根源”并实现其最初的目标——包括使乌克兰非军事化和征服乌克兰——这表明，这一目标可能还有很长的路要走。

Ana Archen 和 Darya Tarasova 对本报告做出了贡献。