Russian Election for the Kremlin-backed Party Held in Vienna Amid Heightened Security Measures
A clear victory for the ruling party, “United Russia,” is emerging in the Russian Duma election. The election was marked by protests, the strict exclusion of genuine opposition figures, and heightened security measures—as demonstrated, among other things, by a police operation outside the Russian Embassy in Vienna.
As expected, President Vladimir Putin's party appears poised for a clear victory in Russia's parliamentary election. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Aleksandrs Čaičics / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
According to initial projections and exit polls from the Russian state polling center, President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin-backed United Russia party has once again emerged as the clear winner with 49.4 percent of the vote, as reported by ORF. According to current projections, in addition to the ruling party, four other parties secured seats in the State Duma:
- Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF): 14.2%
- Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR): 10.7%
- New People (Novye Lyudi): 9.7%
- Fair Russia: 6.6%
Political observers and experts emphasize, however, that these are all parties loyal to the Kremlin and part of the so-called “systemic opposition.” All factions represented in parliament support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Independent opposition candidates and parties were not even allowed to run in the election.
Protests and Police Presence Outside the Russian Embassy in Vienna
The three-day election also left its mark in Austria, as reported by ORF. On the final day of voting, a large police presence was deployed outside the Russian Embassy in Vienna. At the request of Russian diplomats, law enforcement completely cordoned off the relevant section of Reisnerstraße in the embassy district. In addition to heavily armed officers, officials from the Vienna State Office for State Security and Countering Extremism (LSE) were also on duty.
At the same time, a peaceful protest formed across the street from the embassy building. The initiative “Russians Against War Vienna” demonstrated with banners and posters bearing messages such as: “The opposition is not allowed in the Russian election.” One activist emphasized in an interview that the vote count did not reflect the actual will of the people, since even within approved parties, critical voices had been systematically excluded.
Exile Polls Show Moderate Turnout
At exactly 12:00 p.m., activists on site recorded a noticeable increase in voter numbers. This corresponded to the call by government opponents in exile to vote against Putin and the regime at exactly noon.
A survey conducted in front of the embassy (“Exile Poll”) counted around 550 voters shortly before 1:00 p.m. However, interest fell far short of previous elections: In the March 2024 presidential election, just under 2,300 people had voted in Vienna. At that time, the liberal candidate Vladislav Davankov won the majority of votes abroad, while Vladimir Putin received only 21 percent in Vienna.