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Russian Election Campaign “Worse Than Soviet Era, ‘ Analyst Say
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Russian political parties are drastically limiting their campaign spending ahead of the September 18–20 State Duma elections, an independent outlet Verstka reported on September 3.
This has resulted in what political strategists call the most underfunded parliamentary campaign this millennium.
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While the ruling United Russia party collected the maximum permitted 700 million rubles ($8.08 million), it has spent only a sixth of that total.
Other factions have seen significant drops; the LDPR received around 350 million rubles ($4.04 million), while the New People party’s budget fell from 463 million rubles ($5.34 million) in the previous election to under 90 million rubles ($1.04 million). Meanwhile, the Rodina party holds just 1.85 million rubles ($21,350).
Regional officials and sources close to the Kremlin told Verstka that campaigning has become effectively meaningless due to ongoing domestic instability.
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One official in the Central Federal District noted the difficulty of campaigning on standard issues like the economy and birth rates while the country deals with fuel shortages, burning warehouses, and drone strikes. Furthermore, campaign messaging is tightly restricted, with candidates barred from discussing the war or criticizing regional governors.
According to Verstka, one NGO director working with the Kremlin described the current political campaign as “worse than in the Soviet era,” adding that officials lack interest even in embezzling the election funds.
The Kremlin is intentionally suppressing voter turnout to manage the political risks associated with the war and internal crises, Verstka noted. Federal television debates were delayed until August 31 and relegated to weekday morning time slots.
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Public awareness remains notably low; a Levada Center poll in late May indicated that 66% of Russians did not know the elections were taking place. Despite a late August FOM poll showing United Russia at 32% support, the ruling party plans to secure a constitutional majority by relying on its administrative resources to compel state employees to vote.
Based on internal Russian documents, previously obtained by Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow plans to launch a major mobilization drive this autumn immediately following staged parliamentary elections.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Kremlin intended to use the orchestrated vote to manufacture the appearance of public support for the war before rapidly conscripting several hundred thousand additional troops by the end of the year.
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