Saks says Russia used occupied territories vote to signal integration

Russia’s State Duma elections produced no surprises, and no genuine electoral process took place in the occupied territories of Ukraine, security expert Rainer Saks told ERR’s Välisilm programme.

Saks said Moscow was trying to create the impression that the occupied territories had been integrated into Russia. In reality, he said, Russia’s leadership faces the need to send more soldiers to the front, which could soon lead to another mobilisation.

The dominance of the United Russia party was expected, Saks said. One point for discussion was the turnout, which remained below 60 percent. Some political scientists and experts who study Russia have suggested that the authorities tried to keep participation from becoming too high.

According to Saks, the authorities may have feared large public gatherings coinciding with drone attacks. He said the elections were also notable because little effort was made to create the appearance of genuine competition. In single-member districts, United Russia’s victories were secured through administrative resources, while nationwide party lists were used to suggest that its dominance was less overwhelming.

The A Just Russia party narrowly failed to cross the five percent threshold. Saks said it was possible the party could still be given the necessary votes before the final results, expected on September 25, are announced. If that happened, it would enter parliament with a new faction and new members.

Saks also pointed to President Vladimir Putin’s tour of Russia before the elections. Putin visited the Kuril Islands, where he had not previously travelled personally, and went to the Far East, but did not make a similar tour of the European part of Russia. Saks said it was unclear whether a planned part of the tour had been abandoned.

He said there was no real electoral process in the occupied territories, just as there was none in Russia. Some parties tried to campaign on the streets, while social media carried reports about armed personnel maintaining order at polling stations.

Saks said the occupied territories in question included Crimea, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and, to a lesser extent, the occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. He said Russia had brought a substantial number of people to live in those areas, particularly Donbas, and that the future of Russia’s occupation authorities depended on them.

Holding elections there was intended to show that the territories were supposedly integrated into Russia, Saks said. He described the message as politically ineffectual because it had no real impact on the current situation.

He also noted that the European Union had stated that elections were not permitted in the occupied territories, showing that the issue had been noticed and was not being treated neutrally.