Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war
Voting begins across the country for all 450 seats in the State Duma.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war
Photograph: La Presse (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Polls have opened in Russia's Far East for a three-day parliamentary election.
- This is the first parliamentary vote since the start of the war in Ukraine.
- President Vladimir Putin's party is widely expected to win the election.
- Voting is also occurring in occupied territories of eastern Ukraine.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 8 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
41/100
16 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Russia has begun a three-day parliamentary election, with polls opening in the Far East. The vote will determine all 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. This election is the first parliamentary vote to take place since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Voting is also being conducted in occupied territories of eastern Ukraine.
Disagreement on election timing
While most reports state that voting began on Friday, 18 September 2026, one outlet indicates a different start date. Vedomosti.ru reports that the election will last for three days, from 18 to 20 September. Life.ru states that polling stations in the Far East opened at 11 p.m. Moscow time on 17 September, with electoral commissions beginning their work on the morning of 18 September. Interfax.ru and vz.ru also note that the first polling stations opened on Kamchatka and Chukotka.
Omissions in coverage
None of the right-rated reports mention the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace or the analysis provided by Tatiana Stanovaïa. The left-rated report from La Presse included this information.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 17 Sept 2026, 22:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- La Presse led its report on the start of the legislative elections in Russia, highlighting that they are taking place in the midst of the war in Ukraine. The report noted that the vote, which will renew the 450 seats in the State Duma, is scheduled to last until Sunday. It also stated that these are the first legislative elections since the large-scale offensive in Ukraine began in February 2022 and that they are being held in occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. The outlet mentioned that the election will allow the Kremlin to gauge the mood of Russians, as diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict have failed. La Presse quoted Tatiana Stanovaïa of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an organisation banned in Russia, who explained that Putin compares his political situation to European countries and that having an election with considerable support is important to him personally, emotionally, and politically. The report also touched on the fear of a new mobilisation following the partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists in September 2022.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- Washington Top News reported on the opening of polls for Russia's tightly controlled parliamentary vote, with the Kremlin expected to maintain its grip on power. The report stated that the election will determine all 450 seats in the State Duma.
Right
6 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on the commencement of voting in Russia's parliamentary election, noting it is the first since the war in Ukraine began. Multiple outlets stated that polling stations opened in the Far East and that the election will determine all 450 seats in the State Duma. President Vladimir Putin's party is widely expected to win. Times of India, Aftenposten, Le Figaro, news-pravda.com, vz.ru, and Interfax.ru all carried headlines and digests to this effect. Vz.ru mentioned that Ella Pamfilova, Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, participated in the opening of the first polling stations and that Russia's anthem was played. Interfax.ru and news-pravda.com specified that polling stations opened in Kamchatka and Chukotka.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war?
- Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 13% are rated left, 12% are rated centre, 75% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war biased?
- Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Russia holds parliamentary elections amid Ukraine war?
- 16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When did the Russian parliamentary elections begin?
- Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday, 18 September 2026, for a three-day parliamentary election. Some reports indicate that the first electoral commissions began their work on the morning of 18 September, following an 11 p.m. Moscow time opening on 17 September.
- What is being decided in these elections?
- The elections will determine all 450 seats in the State Duma, which is the lower house of the Russian parliament. This is the first parliamentary election to be held since the start of the war in Ukraine.
- Is President Putin's party expected to win?
- Yes, President Vladimir Putin's party is widely expected to win the election and maintain its grip on power in the State Duma. The election is described as tightly controlled.
Read it at the source
16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
1Right
6- Russia kicks off voting in first parliamentary election since Ukraine war began (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Duma Elections in Russia Have Begun (opens Aftenposten in a new tab)
Aftenposten — is Aftenposten biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Legislative Authorities in Russia: Polling Stations Open in the Far East (opens Le Figaro in a new tab)
- State Duma elections have begun in Russia (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Elections to the Ninth State Duma Began in Russia (opens vz.ru in a new tab)
- The First Polling Stations Opened on Kamchatka and Chukotka (opens Interfax.ru in a new tab)
Interfax.ru — is Interfax.ru biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
8- Russia votes in wartime parliamentary election set to secure the Kremlin’s power (opens Herts Advertiser in a new tab)
Herts Advertiser — is Herts Advertiser biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Three-Day Parliamentary Elections Have Begun in Russia: The First Polling Stations Have Opened (opens n1info.rs in a new tab)
- Duma Elections in Russia Have Begun (opens Nettavisen in a new tab)
Nettavisen — is Nettavisen biased? Our profile of this outlet
- "I'm Gonna Vote Old-Fashioned": How Politicians and Experts Prepare for Elections (opens vedomosti.ru in a new tab)
vedomosti.ru — is vedomosti.ru biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Voting Has Begun in the State Duma Elections in Russia. (opens anlatilaninotesi.com.tr in a new tab)
anlatilaninotesi.com.tr — is anlatilaninotesi.com.tr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Russia kicks off voting in first parliamentary election since Ukraine war began (opens PressNewsAgency in a new tab)
PressNewsAgency — is PressNewsAgency biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The First Sites on the Unified Voting Day in Russia Opened in the Far East (opens Life.ru in a new tab)
- Polls Open for Parliamentary Elections in Russia's Far East (opens Naftemporiki in a new tab)
Naftemporiki — is Naftemporiki biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
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