Why does Russia hold elections during wartime?
Russia's 2026 State Duma election is over. United Russia won 349 of 450 seats,
while Yabloko was excluded from the federal ballot.
If the result was already largely expected, why does the election still matter?
In this episode of “Why Russia?”, host Tsui Lin talks with Professor Ching-Yun Hsu,
Director of Institute of Russian Studies, about Russia's wartime election and
what it tells us about the country's political system.
In this episode, we look at:
- Why hold elections when the result seems predictable?
- Why was Yabloko excluded from the ballot?
- How can elections help the authorities understand public sentiment?
- How has the war affected Russian electoral politics?
- What does the election of 46 war veterans to the State Duma mean for Russia's future political landscape?
- An election is about more than who wins. It also raises questions about who can participate, why people vote,
and what elections mean for the political system.
Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4o5DQXeSrY (Conduct in Chinese)
