Statement by the HR/VP on the 2026 undemocratic elections to the Russian State Duma and its implications on civil society

Breadcrumb EEAS Statement by the HR/VP on the 2026 undemocratic elections to the Russian State Duma and its implications on civil society Share Facebook LinkedIn X Whatsapp E-mail Gmail Print Typepad Pinterest Blogger Pocket YahooMail Threads Weibo Viadeo Reddit Qzone Netvibes Yammer Tumblr Digg Mastodon BlueSky PRINT Statement by the HR/VP on the 2026 undemocratic elections to the Russian State Duma and its implications on civil society 06.10.2026 Dear President, Honourable Members, Just over two weeks ago, Russia organised sham elections. The only anti-war party was banned from participating. Putin did not allow OSCE observers in for monitoring and refused an independent assessment of the results. There was zero tolerance for dissent. So of course, the outcome was never in doubt. Putin’s party – United Russia – created somewhere between 14 and 20 million artificial votes for itself. United Russia has brought the Russian people higher food prices, internet blackouts, gasoline shortages, and 40,000 Russian war casualties per month. The only way this party could win enough votes is by rigging the game. Putin’s regime also grossly violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and international law by holding sham elections in the occupied territories. Ukrainian citizens were coerced into showing up at the polls. Armed soldiers watched over people dropping their ballots in the box. The European Union is united in its condemnation of Russia’s sham elections. They were an insult to Ukraine, to the Russian people, and to democracy itself. Honourable Members, Putin uses sham elections in occupied territories to sell the world a false narrative that these territories are now part of Russia. In a blatant breach of all norms of international law, sham elections [in occupied territories] are an attempt to legitimise colonialisation. It won’t work. Crimea and Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia are part of Ukraine. The European Union is currently preparing sanctions on those involved in the organisation of the sham elections and those who stood as candidates for Russia in occupied Ukraine. We call on others to do the same. Honourable Members, Russia’s government hates democracy. The regime has steadily cut off access to the civil society organisations that nurture free thinking, encourage political debate, and protect human rights. Independent media outlets have been forced to shut down or operate from abroad. On top of plans for record military spending in 2027, Russia is steadily militarizing its political system too. This year, for the first time, Russia’s Federal Security Service was in charge of the electoral process. Let that sink in. Voters were mobilised with the heavy-handed tactics one would expect from the organisation at the heart of Russia’s totalitarian system. Putin has not given up on his war aims. He responds to every offer to negotiate with more attacks on Ukrainian civilians. The only way to end the killing in Ukraine is with maximum pressure on Russia. Honourable Members, Putin hates democracy because he’s threatened by it. That is why – along with destroying civil society and repressing political opposition at home – Russia meddles in the democratic space of others, including our European Union. Democracies cannot be complacent in the face a predator like Putin. Democracies must keep working to protect themselves and help others to do the same: by investing in media freedom, by supporting civil society, by building up a resilient information space and by protecting the rule of law. And you, elected representatives of the people, must prove to the citizens every day that democracy delivers, that you listen to citizens’ concerns and that you act on their behalf. Honourable Members, As Vaclav Havel once said, the power of the powerless lies in the fact that even the most brutal regime cannot extinguish the human longing for dignity. Democracy is nothing but dignity for people. Where democracy flourishes, people can shape the decisions that affect their lives, journalists can safely report on the state of the country, judges can deliver justice for people based on the law. Democratic countries are more productive, GDP is higher, and people live longer. It is hard to say no to that. And that is why, despite the repression in Russia, there will always be human rights-defenders, anti-corruption leaders, dissidents and political artists, even though they are forced under the radar today. These are the people who truly stand up for the Russian people, and can help Russia to build a better future. They will always have European support. Thank you. Closing remarks Honourable Members, thank you for the debate. I think we need to also remember why Russia attacked Crimea in the first place. It was not because Ukraine was about to join NATO. It was actually about Ukraine joining or having the Association Agreement with the European Union, so Ukraine coming closer to European Union. And why is that the threat to Russia? It is because democracy is coming closer. And why is democracy a threat? Because in democracy, democratic leaders are held accountable, and responsible for their decisions. Every four years you have elections, and then if people don't like what you're doing, then you're voted out. But dictators do not care about public opinion; they don't care about what people think. What they care about is to keep the cronies around them happy. That means oligarchs. Then keeping the army and the power structures happy because they keep the dictators in power. And also eliminating all the alternatives, and that is what we see also in Russia. Now I think this is important to keep in mind. Russia is afraid of democracy, and that is very clear. And that's why I also agree with all those members who have said that that calling them ‘elections’ is actually wrong. We should call them a ‘special electoral operation’, because that is clearly what it was. And finally, one comment that is not really related to democracy in Russia, but MEP Buczek was really attacking press freedom in Poland. I was just checking the numbers in the Press Freedom Index. Russia is on that list, 172. Poland, 27. So, this is a clear answer where there is a problem and where there is not. Thank you.