Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Farida Rustamova, author of the Vlast newsletter dedicated to Russia’s domestic politics, to discuss the 2026 State Duma elections, what’s new, and what to expect next.
Russia embarked on its first parliamentary elections since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine with ramped up repression and an emptied political space amid the ongoing war. Even so, these tightly controlled elections did not go exactly according to plan. What do the results mean? How important are elections in the current Russian political system? What’s different in the newly elected Duma.
Check out the Vlast newsletter here.