Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a litmus test on domestic support for Russia’s war, massive pro-government rallies in Iran, and calls for Irish reunification.

“Millions of people stand behind our fighters.” That is the message that the Kremlin is hoping to send as Russia kicks off its first State Duma elections since the Russia-Ukraine war erupted in February 2022. The results are all but certain; support for United Russia, the party most closely associated with President Vladimir Putin, is polling at nearly 40 percent. But experts argue that the outcome matters less for Moscow than the veneer of holding a vote.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a litmus test on domestic support for Russia’s war, massive pro-government rallies in Iran, and calls for Irish reunification.

“Millions of people stand behind our fighters.” That is the message that the Kremlin is hoping to send as Russia kicks off its first State Duma elections since the Russia-Ukraine war erupted in February 2022. The results are all but certain; support for United Russia, the party most closely associated with President Vladimir Putin, is polling at nearly 40 percent. But experts argue that the outcome matters less for Moscow than the veneer of holding a vote.

According to the Kremlin, this weekend’s three-day election is an opportunity for Russians to signal their loyalty to the war effort. “Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland,” Putin said in a nationwide address.

But actual democratic choice is little more than a charade. Moscow has banned independent opposition groups from seeking office, no foreign election observers were invited to oversee the process, and the country’s only nonstate election monitoring group shut down last year after its leader was jailed. Of the few participating parties outside of United Russia, all are polling below 14 percent. And despite technically being separate entities, they have a history of voting in tandem with United Russia’s agenda.

Even the candidates appear unconcerned about the results. Six individuals running for Russia’s 158th district skipped two days of televised debate ahead of this weekend’s vote, and only one........

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