DOMINANT ANGLE
Brasília is dissociating the score claimed by United Russia from the validity of an election without real opposition, held on the day Ukraine struck Moscow with over a thousand drones.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
United Russia credited with 57.5% (Jornal de Brasília) to 57.54% (G1) of the vote on around 14% of the ballots counted, according to the Central Election Commission.
- 02
Voter turnout exceeded 56% according to the Central Election Commission, after surpassing 50% early in the afternoon in Moscow, according to Interfax.
- 03
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims to have shot down 1,110 Ukrainian drones on Sunday; Governor Andrei Vorobyov reports two dead and twenty injured in the Moscow region.
ANALYSIS
Brasília, September 21, 2026. Brazil's coverage of the Russian electoral weekend separates two aspects it refuses to conflate: the election numbers and their validity. Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is leading the legislative elections with 57.5% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission, based on around 14% of the ballots counted on Sunday, report Folha and G1. The exit poll by the state-run VTsIOM research center credits the party with 49.4%, ahead of the Communist Party (14.2%) and the LDPR (10.7%). Turnout exceeded 56% according to the same commission, after surpassing 50% in the early afternoon in Moscow, reports the Interfax agency cited by G1.
Brazilian media recall that this election, the first for the State Duma since the outbreak of war in 2022, is taking place in a climate of strong restrictions on the opposition: most anti-war candidates have been excluded, the pacifist Yabloko party has been barred from the race, and the participating parties — communists, LDPR, Russie Juste, Gente Nova — all support the conflict. G1 notes that "Kremlin critics argue that the Russian political system does not allow for significant dissent". Former President Dmitry Medvedev, head of United Russia, hailed an "admirable performance" and called to "put the president's decisions into practice", according to the RIA agency.
On the same day, Ukraine launched what Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described as the largest drone attack ever against the Russian capital, "clearly planned to disrupt the elections" — "the enemy did not succeed", he added. The Russian Defense Ministry claims to have shot down 1,110 drones across the country, including over the annexed Crimea. A Moscow oil refinery caught fire; regional governor Andrey Vorobyov reported two deaths — a 74-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman — and 20 injured. A member of an electoral commission was also killed in the occupied region of Kherson. Cheremetievo and Vnukovo airports restricted their traffic, according to the BBC cited by G1. Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the use of Ukrainian Flamingo and Pelican missiles against the "Russian war machine".
SOURCES (3)
- G1 Globo MundoMEDIUM
- Jornal de BrasíliaMEDIUM
- Folha MundoMEDIUM
