Voter turnout in Russia's general election—the first held since the country launched its so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine—has surpassed 50%.

With projections indicating a landslide victory for the ruling United Russia party through a majority of votes, Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on political power is expected to become even stronger.

According to the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC), voting for the three-day general election concluded around 9 p.m. local time, with provisional turnout recorded at 56.66%, TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.

This figure already exceeds the final voter turnouts of the previous three elections: 54.81% in 1993, 47.88% in 2016, and 51.72% in 2021.

The CEC announced that with approximately 25.02% of the votes counted, United Russia was in the lead with 57.05% of the vote.

Following behind were the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 13.96%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with 9.31%, New People with 8.01%, and A Just Russia with 5.21%. These five parties, which crossed the 5% vote threshold, are expected to enter parliament via proportional representation party lists.

The CEC stated that provisional election results will be released on the morning of the 21st, with the final results coming out after the 25th.

Exit polls by several polling organizations also projected that United Russia would win between 49.4% and 52.8% of the vote, TASS reported.

Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of United Russia, who is a close confidant of President Putin and serves as the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, declared that his party achieved good results and that "Russians still maintain their trust in United Russia."

This general election is the first to take place since Russia initiated its military action in Ukraine in February 2022.

It has drawn significant attention from the international community, particularly because it marks the first instance of residents in regions annexed by Russia participating in a general election, including Novorossiya, which refers to Donbas in eastern Ukraine and the Azov-Black Sea coast in southeastern Ukraine.

Voter turnout across the four annexed oblasts was 81.62% in Donetsk, 79.33% in Luhansk, 74.61% in Kherson, and 79.39% in Zaporizhzhia.

If the ruling United Russia and other pro-government forces maintain an absolute majority of seats following the vote count, President Vladimir Putin's control over the political landscape is expected to be further cemented.

Galina Katyushchenko, chairwoman of the Zaporizhzhia regional election commission, claimed that the relatively high turnout was because "local residents showed great interest in the historic State Duma election being held in our region for the first time."

In the early hours of the day, Ukraine launched approximately 1,600 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs / drones) targeting Russia as it held the general election.

CEC Chairperson Ella Pamfilova stated that a total of over 100 million malicious cyber access attempts against the election system were blocked, and claimed that an unauthorized communication network access attempt using AI technology on the afternoon of the 18th is suspected to be the work of Ukraine.

At the same time, she emphasized, "There were fierce attacks, but none were successful."

The Associated Press reported that "the Kremlin aims to showcase public support for the war and secure legitimacy for its actions through this parliamentary election, the first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine," predicting that the Kremlin's grip on power will grow stronger.

This analysis stems from the tight control exerted by the ruling establishment, as Yabloko, Russia's sole official anti-war opposition party, was stripped of its eligibility to field candidates for proportional representation party lists following a Supreme Court decision last month, making its entry into parliament virtually impossible.

It was also reported that election observers belonging not only to Yabloko but even to the Communist Party, which has raised cautious criticisms of Kremlin policies, were denied entry to multiple polling stations.

Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, raised questions after hearing news that paper ballot issuance systems malfunctioned at some polling stations and that voters were asked to use electronic voting machines. He urged voters on X, demanding, "Demand paper ballots."

Visiting a polling station in St. Petersburg, Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov staged a protest against the election authorities' stance by displaying a ballot paper to reporters with the words "For Freedom" written in large letters.

(Photo: Yonhap News)