Russia's wartime parliamentary election is set to secure the Kremlin's power

It’s a challenging time for Russia to hold a parliamentary election, even one whose outcome is all but assured. The economic and political climate has been seriously affected by 4½ years of full-fledged war with Ukraine. Swarms of enemy drones have inflicted massive damage on Russian oil refineries and logistical facilities.

The public, which no longer sees the fighting as something distant, is increasingly nervous. United Russia, the main Kremlin party, is poised to keep its overwhelming grip on the State Duma alongside a few other parties that vote in sync with President Vladimir Putin’s wishes. Still, authorities have tightened control over the first wartime balloting for the lower chamber of parliament since the 2022 invasion.

The Kremlin stifled even the slightest signs of dissent before three days of voting that begin Friday. The only party that dared to criticize the war was unceremoniously removed from the ballot, and a few anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced to flee abroad. With the result predetermined and Putin’s political dominance under no immediate threat, analysts say the Kremlin sees the election as a key effort to mobilize public support for the war and legitimize its action.

“Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland,” Putin said in an address before the vote. Economic damage mounts from summer attacks A summer marked by Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes brought the war home for millions of Russians for the first time. The attacks exacerbated problems for the Russian economy, which has plunged into stagnation as the initial boost from massive military spending has waned.

The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep the growing budget deficit under control. Strikes on Russian oil refineries sparked a severe fuel crisis that peaked in June, eased for a few weeks and then returned in August. Adding to the pain was a series of attacks on warehouses belonging to online retailers Wildberries and Ozon.

Hundreds of thousands of individual sellers lost their merchandise, sending a shock wave through the economy. Polls recorded a dip in Putin’s approval ratings, even though they remained high, with the independent Le…