(MOSCOW) – Russian newspapers have claimed the parliamentary election result amounts to a national referendum endorsing the war against Ukraine, with state media increasingly using the word “war” instead of the Kremlin’s preferred “special military operation”, according to a review of the Russian press published on 22nd September 2026.
According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling United Russia party, backed by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, has won a dominant majority in the State Duma. It will dominate the next Duma with potentially its largest group of MPs ever.
Moskovski Komsomolets wrote that “Putin won a national referendum” and that “in the 2026 Duma election, Russians backed the special military operation”. The paper added that “the population of Russia has ceased to live in conditions of peace and has begun to get used to living in conditions of war”, and that the Russian dictator believes “all the sacrifices the country is now making are absolutely justified”. It said that, judging by preliminary results, “Russian citizens supported this position of the head of state by an overwhelming majority of votes”.
The paper quoted a political pundit as saying the result demonstrates to an external audience that “the Russian leadership not only keeps the situation in the country under control, but is also capable of setting any new tasks regardless of economic difficulties and the consequences of Ukrainian strikes”. In other words, the paper said, Russia seeks to show “that for Russia, an advantageous outcome of the Russian Ukraine conflict is inevitable”.
Moskovski Komsomolets also stated that all parties in the new Duma, as in the old one, are “members of Putin’s large informal patriotic coalition”. It noted that on individual issues they may criticise the authorities, but on matters of fundamental importance “the people and all the parties are united”, describing this as “the essence of the modern parliamentary system in Russia”. The paper added: “Right now, Russia is waging nothing short of a war, the outcome of which will be determined not at the polling stations, but on the battlefield.”
Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote about “heroes of the special military operation” who have been elected to the Duma, stating that there will be at least 50 of them in the new parliament. The paper said that in parliament, “these days you need people who know what gunfire smells like”, describing the new chamber as “a combative Duma at a time that is unlikely to be peaceful, whatever promises peace negotiators may make”.
The coverage suggests a more militarised Duma with more soldiers, which could eventually mean more military figures in Russia’s political elite. None of the coverage cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election. The government paper wrote that there were “a record number of violations in the sense that there weren’t many”.
No mention was made that last year one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group in Russia was jailed for five years and the group Golos was shut down. Observers from CIS countries did not register any violations that could influence the results, while an observer mission from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization described the vote as “calm and organised”.
The Russian press review also noted coverage suggesting that the Russian dictator may draw encouragement from headlines about Europe risking fuel shortages due to Saudi Arabia halting oil exports, and about establishment parties crumbling in Germany. Such coverage is likely to reinforce his belief that on Ukraine and confrontation with the West, he will eventually come out on top, despite the war not having gone according to plan.
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