Report on monitoring of federal television channels in the thirteenth week (7–13 September) of the election campaign for the election of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the ninth convocation, scheduled for 20 September 2026
The Elections Atlas project has launched a programme of weekly monitoring of federal television channels during the State Duma election campaign. We will track how equitable the coverage of election participants is on state-controlled federal television channels.
Television remains one of the main sources of information for many Russians. At the same time, the media have been entrusted by society with a special role — they are responsible for creating conditions for citizens to conduct a public political discussion. Both the Russian Constitution and many international covenants require the media to take ethical and balanced positions and to cover the election process in a fair, balanced and impartial manner. Media representatives must not engage in campaigning.
The results of the media monitoring are published weekly.
Key findings for the thirteenth week of the campaign
Two weeks before the election, the television channels further reduced their already meagre pre-election party airtime — it totalled 78 minutes of airtime per week across all six channels (OTR decided not to report on parties at all).
In the penultimate week of the election campaign, the central news story on federal television was the party ratings published by FOM and VTsIOM. Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV and TVC used the poll data to assess the balance of power before the election. United Russia is presented in all these reports as the undisputed leader, garnering over 50% of the vote. The CPRF took second place on all channels, while the main intrigue was announced around the battle between the LDPR and New People for third place. A Just Russia is presented in fifth place on Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV and TVC and in the "danger zone" due to the need to overcome the five-percent barrier. Thus, two messages are simultaneously formed on air: United Russia's result appears predetermined, while at the same time the emphasis on the parties' struggle for second and third place creates the impression of a competitive election.
United Russia, as throughout the entire election campaign, occupies a significantly larger place in the news agenda of federal television compared to other parliamentary parties. In addition to the ratings, the channels showed in detail the work of the party's candidates and representatives: support for participants in the special military operation (SVO) and veterans, social initiatives, family and child protection issues, regional development and work with citizens' appeals. Special attention was given to the leaders of the federal party list: Maria Lvova-Belova, Vladislav Golovin, Vladimir Yakushev and Sergei Sobyanin. At the same time, reports that the party is leading in the ratings are reinforced by stories about its practical activities and the implementation of party initiatives.
The only non-parliamentary party to receive federal coverage this week was again the Greens, and the party received the most detailed attention from television channels of the entire campaign. The party was mentioned on Rossiya 1 and TVC in several stories at once, and the topics were related not to the national rating, but to specific local problems: protecting a park, dilapidated housing, running an animal shelter, pedestrian infrastructure and the environmental agenda. The other non-parliamentary parties disappeared completely from the airwaves.
A separate block of the news agenda consisted of stories about the progress of the election campaign and the organisation of voting. Channel One, NTV, TVC and Channel Five covered turnout forecasts, the work of the CEC and attempts at foreign interference in the electoral process, while TVC also reported on the start of observer work. The OTR television channel did not broadcast a single story mentioning the parties participating in the election race; however, throughout the week it reported extensively and in detail on the technical and organisational side of voting — early voting, REV and the organisation of voting in remote and border territories.
Number and content of news stories
Despite the approaching election date, the television channels increased their attention to the election topic only slightly. Compared to the previous week, the share of news broadcasts containing election stories increased by only 10 p.p. on Rossiya 1, and by 3–3.5 p.p. on Channel One, Channel Five and TVC. Note that OTR completely excluded the pre-election party agenda from its broadcasts. NTV, which showed no stories about parties last week, included election stories in only five percent of its news broadcasts this week.
At the same time, the total amount of federal airtime allocated to election stories decreased — it amounted to 78 minutes, which is 11 minutes less than in the previous two weeks.
Distribution of airtime between parties
Airtime, as before, is distributed unevenly between parties: the largest volume of television airtime is occupied by stories about United Russia. Nevertheless, in the thirteenth week of the election campaign, the gap in the amount of airtime between United Russia and other parliamentary parties narrowed — this happened due to a reduction in the duration of broadcasts devoted to the "party of power".
If a week earlier federal television channels had allocated almost 62 minutes in total to stories about United Russia, this week it was only 28 minutes, more than halved. At the same time, other parliamentary parties received more airtime than before. The CPRF and New People were each given 13 minutes of airtime. The LDPR lags slightly behind them, with stories about the party receiving a total of 10 minutes of federal airtime. A Just Russia received just over 9 minutes of airtime — the lowest result among parliamentary parties. Of the non-parliamentary parties, only the Greens were mentioned on air — 3.3 minutes.
The number of mentions of parties, on the other hand, increased somewhat.
This increase in the number of mentions, while the time allocated to parties decreased, led to a significant reduction in the average length of a story devoted to each individual party.
As a result, United Russia again received the most extensive coverage on air, but even its average story length fell by almost 2.7 times. And still, stories about it were on average almost twice as long as stories about other parliamentary parties, lasting on average about a minute.
Tone of mentions
The tone of coverage of party activities remains positive-neutral. The largest share of positive mentions goes to United Russia — 81% of all stories. Next, as before, come New People, despite the fact that their positive tone decreased; this week it amounted to only 47.6% of all stories. In stories about the CPRF, the share of positive tone increased slightly and amounted to 39%. In stories about the LDPR and A Just Russia, the share of positive tone decreased to 16.6% and 11.7% respectively. All stories about the Greens were kept in a neutral tone.
As a result, the dynamics of the tone rating throughout the entire campaign remain roughly the same — all parties are covered neutrally or positively, with the best reviews on television channels going to United Russia. The only period that stood out from this picture was the beginning of August, when the television channels reported on the cancellation of the registration of the Yabloko party.
The distribution of attention to parties across television channels also remained traditional: all parliamentary parties received an audience on four or five channels, while the Greens received two.
News stories of the week
United Russia
The main news story for United Russia in the thirteenth week was the ratings and electoral forecasts from FOM and VTsIOM, in which the party takes first place. The topic was widely covered on Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV and TVC.
In addition to the ratings, Channel One and Rossiya 1 reported in the most detail on the party's work. The stories covered working trips and initiatives of candidates on the federal list. One of the main stories was Vladimir Putin's meeting with United Russia candidates, during which issues of unfinished construction, mortgage lending, protection of Russian citizens and support for participants in military operations were discussed.
A series of stories was devoted to Maria Lvova-Belova: she gave a speech on supporting families and preventing social orphanhood, participated in the All-Russian Congress of Parent Committees, and also discussed initiatives to protect children from cyber fraud. In a Channel One story, Lvova-Belova visited a pilot children's aid centre in Irkutsk and met with activists of the party's women's movement. On TVC, she spoke at the session "Family First", where she talked about supporting families in difficult life situations.
Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV and TVC reported on Vladislav Golovin's trips to the Ryazan and Ulyanovsk regions, where he met with SVO participants and visited a rehabilitation centre. Channel One also aired a story about Golovin's participation in the Yunarmiya forum. NTV reported on Golovin's meeting with students and teachers of a pedagogical university, as well as a visit to an automobile plant.
Individual stories were devoted to Vladimir Yakushev and Sergei Sobyanin. On Channel One, Yakushev visited Tobolsk, where he inspected a new polyclinic and a multidisciplinary technical school, and discussed the development of the region. Sobyanin met with participants of the United Russia public support headquarters. TVC reported in detail on the work of the headquarters with Muscovites' appeals on issues of healthcare, transport and housing and communal services, work with youth, candidates who are SVO participants, and the training of 1,440 observers.
On Rossiya 1, additional news stories were the party's social initiatives and work with public infrastructure: the construction of a new hospital, the improvement of public spaces, as well as measures to support SVO veterans. Channel One also reported on the launch of the "Own Business" educational programme for SVO participants and on the party's delivery of humanitarian aid to residents of the Belgorod region.
CPRF
The main news stories for the CPRF, in addition to electoral forecasts, were the activities of Gennady Zyuganov, support for SVO participants, and the party's industrial and socio-economic agenda.
Most of the substantive stories were related to Gennady Zyuganov's work activities. On Channel One and Rossiya 1, he visited the Air Force Museum and spoke about the need to develop domestic aircraft manufacturing. In stories on Rossiya 1 and TVC, Zyuganov visited the Kirov Plant and discussed the party's programme. In another Rossiya 1 story, Zyuganov criticised transformations in the education system.
Channel One reported that the party is sending humanitarian convoys; in the story, Zyuganov visited a military hospital in St. Petersburg. Rossiya 1 also reported on the party's aid to the front. TVC covered the party's programme, issues of accessibility of healthcare and education, and support for SVO participants.
A separate topic was international cooperation. Channel One and TVC reported on Zyuganov's meeting with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and discussions on inter-party cooperation.
New People
The main news story for New People was the fight for third place in the party ratings, which was discussed on Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV and TVC.
In the party's substantive agenda, the main focus was on the election programme and social initiatives. Channel One and TVC reported on the party's programme, which includes proposals for supporting families, regional development, healthcare and support for SVO participants. Rossiya 1 covered initiatives in the fields of education, animal protection and drug affordability. The party's work with youth and entrepreneurs, and criticism of excessive prohibitions, were also reported.
A separate area was work with families and teenagers. TVC reported on the parent meeting "Difficult Age", dedicated to addictions, healthy lifestyles and parent-child interaction. The party also presented the results of a campaign in 82 regions, in which 25,000 party representatives and more than 50,000 campaigners participated, and promoted the "12 Steps" programme.
Another notable news story was the launch of the media platform "Power of Influence" for bloggers and media representatives. The project was reported on by Channel One, TVC and Channel Five. The platform discussed socially significant projects, as well as topics of cinema, society, business and sports.
LDPR
In addition to electoral ratings, the party's news agenda this week was focused on topics of migration and social policy and support for SVO veterans.
Channel One, Rossiya 1 and TVC covered the LDPR's proposals to tighten migration policy. TVC reported on the party's initiatives in this area that have already become laws.
TVC reported on an LDPR round table on issues of returning veterans to civilian life, where medical, legal and social assistance, housing and banking issues were discussed. Rossiya 1 also covered the party's proposals in the healthcare sector.
Another topic of the week was LDPR initiatives related to education: the party advocated for equalising teachers' salaries across regions. Party representatives also discussed the Unified State Exam, the emotional state of schoolchildren, the work of psychologists and the technical equipment of schools.
A Just Russia
The main news story for A Just Russia was the electoral forecasts and the issue of overcoming the five-percent barrier. Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV and TVC reported that the party is in fifth place. At the same time, assessments of its prospects differed: Channel One pointed to the FOM forecast, which gives it above 5%, while VTsIOM placed the party in the "danger zone" with a result of around 4–6%. NTV also reported on the possibility of overcoming the barrier.
In the party's substantive agenda, social policy, support for families and mothers occupied a prominent place. Channel One and Rossiya 1 reported on the party's proposals to support large families and entrepreneurs. A separate news story was the All-Russian Super-Moms Forum, dedicated to women's social security and support for women's entrepreneurship. Among other initiatives, the party's proposal to establish a monthly federal payment for every child aged 0 to 3 years was reported.
On Channel One and TVC, representatives of A Just Russia advocated for changes in the housing and communal services sector and the nationalisation of poorly maintained facilities. The party also discussed support for small and medium-sized businesses, economic development, the use of AI and simplification of the tax system.
Greens
The Greens became the only non-parliamentary party to receive federal television coverage in the thirteenth week. On Rossiya 1 and TVC, the party appeared in stories devoted to specific regional and urban problems.
Rossiya 1 reported on the Greens' support for residents and public activists advocating for the preservation of Druzhby Park in Moscow. TVC aired four separate stories about the party's activities: on proposals for resettling dilapidated housing in the Arkhangelsk region, work on the problem of stray animals in Kotlas, the need to install a pedestrian crossing in Khamovniki, and an initiative to hold an annual Neva Day in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
Other non-parliamentary parties were not mentioned on the airwaves of federal channels.
Stories about the work of the CEC
As in previous weeks, stories about the work of the CEC formed a separate block of federal television airtime.
Channel One, NTV and TVC showed statements by Ella Pamfilova about attempts to disrupt or discredit the voting. Channel One reported on cyber fraudsters trying to disrupt the voting process, NTV — on attempts to influence voters through messengers. TVC reported on the work of international observers, as well as a drone attack on the building of a territorial election commission in the Samara region and the distribution of fake documents on behalf of the election commission of the DPR.
Channel One additionally covered the information support for the elections, early voting in the SVO zone, the use of Russian software and work with youth. In particular, the channel reported on a project to inform citizens about the elections, inviting young people as guests and observers on the single voting day, as well as measures to protect the electoral infrastructure from cyberattacks.
OTR, unlike the other channels, did not include the party agenda in its stories and focused on the organisational and technical side of the elections. The channel reported on early voting in hard-to-reach areas of Kamchatka, Yakutia and the Magadan region, in border areas of the Belgorod region and in the new territories. Separately, the testing of the remote electronic voting system, the possibility of voting at home and the organisation of the work of election commissions in remote settlements, including using helicopters, were covered.
Methodology
For the media monitoring, six federal television channels that are part of the first multiplex and are the most popular among viewers were selected — Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV, TV Center, Channel Five, OTR.
On each of the six television channels, news broadcasts available in video archives were analysed. For the thirteenth week of the election campaign from 7 to 13 September 2026, 225 news broadcasts were studied (Channel One — 38 broadcasts, Rossiya 1 — 36 broadcasts, NTV — 39 broadcasts, TVC — 29 broadcasts, OTR — 58 broadcasts, Channel Five — 25 broadcasts).
We analysed each news broadcast for the presence of stories about political parties. If there were stories about parties, we were interested in the following indicators:
number of mentions of the party;
time allocated to the party;
tone of information (positive, neutral, negative);
presence of direct speech from party representatives;
presence of voters' opinions about parties in the story;
characteristics of parties voiced by the anchor or voiceover.