United Russia is promoting militants into politics in the temporarily occupied territories
In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the United Russia party has concluded its so-called primaries and selected 130 “candidates” for the Russian State Duma, nearly a third of whom are participants in the war against Ukraine. Human rights activists say this is no coincidence, but part of the Kremlin’s systematic policy to establish a loyal government in the occupied territories. The Eastern Human Rights Group reported this on Facebook.
The “United Russia” party held so-called primaries in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and announced a list of 130 “candidates” to participate in the elections to the Russian State Duma, where nearly a third of the list consists of people who directly participated in the war against Ukraine. The Eastern Human Rights Group reported this, emphasizing that this is not a political process in the classical sense, but a controlled system for selecting figures loyal to the Kremlin.
Human rights activists note that among the 130 “candidates” are 43 combatants, and while such individuals were previously used primarily as propaganda tools, they are now being gradually integrated into local and occupation authorities. The report emphasizes that this appears to be a deliberate transformation of the war into a social ladder, where participation in combat operations becomes the key to political advancement.
“In the occupied territories, the ‘primaries’ of the United Russia party have concluded ahead of the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Among the 130 ‘candidates’ are 43 participants in the war against Ukraine,” reads the statement by human rights defenders, who add that such processes create a new class of administrators who are completely dependent on the current system and its political decisions.
Experts from the Eastern Human Rights Group point out that this is precisely why a kind of “class of accomplices” is forming, where people involved in the war gain access to power in the occupied territories and have an interest in preserving the current order. In their view, this allows the Kremlin to consolidate control and create a managed vertical of governance in the seized Ukrainian territories.
“Russia is creating a system in the occupied territories where the right to power is determined by participation in the war against Ukraine and personal loyalty to the Kremlin leader,” the Eastern Human Rights Group emphasized, adding that the war is increasingly becoming a tool of political legitimacy within this system.
Over the past 24 hours, the Russian army has lost another 1,430 soldiers in the war against Ukraine. Ukrainian defenders have also destroyed dozens of artillery systems, hundreds of vehicles, and nearly 1,800 drones.
