Vue lecture

The Kremlin Has Put Lots of Veterans on the Ballot. Could It Backfire?

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has said veterans are the “new elite,” but selecting them as candidates is a risk.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

Konstantin N. Rizhak, third from right, this month in Moscow. He fought in Ukraine from October 2022 until July 2023 and is a candidate for the nationalist, socially conservative A Just Russia Party.
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Why Autocrats Care What People Think

Russia is staging an election that matters to almost no one — except President Vladimir V. Putin and his inner circle.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
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Why Russia Holds Elections, and How the Kremlin Gets the Results It Wants

Russian elections like the parliamentary vote that begins today are hardly free. But they are critical to the government as a source of legitimacy.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesA digital screen featuring candidates from the United Russia party in Moscow this week. Russians began voting on Friday in parliamentary elections.
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