# Russia’s State Duma election opens amid record online turnout and observer intimidation

https://mins.news/en/item/64444

- Meduza, 2026-09-18 15:02 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/09/18/russia-s-state-duma-elections-begin-with-record-online-turnout-a-million-votes-in-occupied-donetsk-and-attempts-to-bribe-observers

> Russia’s State Duma election began with mass outages in Moscow’s electronic voting system and problems accessing the Gosuslugi portal. Online turnout reportedly surged far beyond 2021 levels, while public-sector workers were pressured to vote electronically. Occupied Donetsk claimed more than a million early votes, and opposition observers were barred, bribed, or otherwise pushed away from polling stations.

## Stories

- [Russian Parliamentary Elections and Political System](https://mins.news/en/topic/russia-election-and-political-system) — Markdown: https://mins.news/en/topic/russia-election-and-political-system.md

## Related coverage

- [Ukraine launches 'biggest' drone attack on final day of Russian elections](https://mins.news/en/video/66640) — DW News, 2026-09-21
- [Russia reports ‘powerful’ cyberattacks on second day of parliamentary vote](https://mins.news/en/item/65610) — Al Jazeera, 2026-09-19
- [FACTBOX: Attacks on remote e-voting system, rise in fake news amid Russian elections](https://mins.news/en/item/64157) — TASS, 2026-09-18