Russian voters abroad voted differently from the official results announced in Russia

Exit polls conducted at polling stations abroad indicate results radically different from those officially announced in Russia after the 2026 State Duma elections. In surveys conducted among Russian voters outside the country, the New People party came first, with 43% or 47.3% of the vote, while the Communist Party received between 18.3% and 19.2%. United Russia, the ruling party, received only 2.8%–5.5%.

The first exit poll, conducted at 27 polling stations in 22 countries, included nearly 15,700 responses. The second covered 18 polling stations in 17 countries, with New People reportedly coming first at all the stations analyzed.

By contrast, the Central Election Commission reported approximately 57.8% of the vote for United Russia, which would give it 355 of the Duma’s 450 seats. The Communists received nearly 14%, the LDPR around 9%, and New People less than 8%.

The organizers of the polls say that many voters abroad voted based on their opposition to the war in Ukraine. The Yabloko party, the only registered party with an explicitly anti-war position, did not participate on the federal list. Votes cast abroad cannot change the composition of the Duma, but they offer a different picture of this community’s preferences.