From 18 to 20 September, Russia held elections for the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament. According to official results announced by the Central Election Commission, turnout reached 59.8 per cent, up from 51.7 per cent in the previous election, and the ruling United Russia party won 349 of 450 seats, maintaining a constitutional majority in the legislature. Voting was conducted over three days and also took place in Russian-occupied Ukraine. The elections occurred in a political environment marked by the exclusion of Yabloko, the only registered party to oppose the war in Ukraine, from the national party-list ballot. Independent analysts, election observers and human rights organizations reported restrictions on political competition, pressure on candidates and observers, and the absence of recognized international election observation. Data on the gender balance of the incoming parliament was not available as of October 2026.

Sources: European Council, OVD Info, Kyiv Independent, European Parliament Research Service

Russia's Supreme Court barred the liberal Yabloko party from participating in the September 2026 State Duma elections, overturning the party's registration days after it had been approved by the Central Election Commission. The court accepted a lawsuit filed by the pro-government Rodina party alleging campaign-related legal violations, including foreign funding and copyright infringements. Yabloko was the only officially registered party campaigning against Russia's war in Ukraine and advocating for a ceasefire. The decision thus removed the sole anti-war option from the national ballot and further narrowed political competition ahead of parliamentary elections. Human Rights Watch and opposition groups criticized the ruling as a violation of political participation and freedom of expression 

On 10 June 2026, President Vladimir Putin signed legislation allowing the government to confiscate property, seize bank funds, and take a range of other punitive measures against Russians abroad for a range of offenses. Effective 1 September, courts may freeze Russian bank accounts and other domestic assets before deciding the underlying case, including for alleged military ‘discrediting’, sanctions advocacy, ‘foreign agent’ violations and involvement with ‘undesirable’ organizations. On 22 July, the State Duma adopted a further package targeting people abroad who were convicted in absentia. It provides for a public register and restrictions on banking, property transactions, electronic state services and consular assistance. Rights advocates described the measures as ‘civic death’. Together, the laws expand Russia’s capacity to penalize anti-war activists, journalists and other critics beyond its borders, and their vague criteria allow for even broader application in the future.  

Sources: ICNL, The Moscow Times (1), The Moscow Times (2) 

Independent Russian media discovered in April 2026 that Russia’s Judicial Department, which operates under the Supreme Court, had removed public access to judicial statistics and failed to publish data for 2025 by its own reporting deadline. The withdrawn database had provided biannual information on convictions, sentencing patterns, defendants’ demographic characteristics, and prosecutions under specific articles of the criminal code. Officials stated that access was suspended because regulations governing publication were being revised, but provided no details regarding the scope of the changes or whether the data would be restored. Journalists, researchers, and human rights organizations had relied on the statistics to monitor judicial practices and track politically sensitive prosecutions, including cases involving extremism, treason, and anti-war activity. The removal of the database further reduces transparency and public oversight of the judiciary, part of a broader policy of restricting access to official data since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Sources: Meduza, The Moscow Times, Vyorstka