On the single voting day of 20 September 2026, more than 2,200 election campaigns took place in Russia, including elections of deputies to the State Duma, direct elections of heads of eight regions, elections of deputies to 39 regional parliaments, and local elections.

Once again, cases of strange nighttime activity at polling stations have been detected in various regions — and in the morning, observers find altered seals, tampered fastenings, forged signatures, and extra ballots.

The main efforts of the authorities were directed at the administrative mobilization of voters through remote electronic voting (REV) and controlled voting at polling stations themselves.

The first day of voting showed that the current elections differ from previous ones even at the voting stage.

Analytical report

Report on monitoring of federal television channels during 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

Report on social media monitoring for the twelfth week (1–7 September) of the election campaign for the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the ninth convocation, scheduled for 20 September 2026.

Analytical report on the composition of election commissions in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation at the start of the 2026 State Duma elections, in four parts

Monitoring report on federal television channels during the twelfth week (31 August – 6 September) of the election campaign for the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the ninth convocation, scheduled for 20 September 2026

Social media monitoring report for the eleventh week (25 – 31 August) of the election campaign for the election of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the ninth convocation, scheduled for 20 September 2026

The complete absence of PECs at polling stations only reinforces the assumption that the voting results here will be adjusted as needed.

Report on monitoring of federal television channels during the eleventh week (24–30 August 2026) of the election campaign for the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the ninth convocation, scheduled for 20 September 2026

Results of the nomination and registration of candidates and party lists in the regional and local elections scheduled for 14 September 2025

The powers of Yelena Mayatnikova, a voting member of the Pskov Oblast Election Commission, were terminated early following a court ruling on interference in the elections. Mayatnikova had been a member of the commission representing the Yabloko party since 2016. She is a retired prosecution service official and worked for 17 years in the supervisory system.

Despite the general trends in domestic politics, Russia remains a large and diverse country in which elections can differ profoundly in substance and in form — in some places there has been no political competition at all for a couple of decades already, while in others a hidden or even open struggle between elites continues, and independent candidates are nominated who stand against the incumbent heads of regions.