Russia: Moscow residents head to polls as Russia’s elections begin.

SHOTLIST: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (SEPT. 18, 2026) 1. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS WAITING IN LINE 2. VARIOUS OF BALLOT PAPERS BEING PREPARED AND SOLDIERS EXAMINING ELECTION MATERIALS 3. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS CASTING THEIR BALLOTSMOSCOW, RUSSIA - SEPT. 18: Voting began across Russia on Friday, Sept. 18, in elections for State Duma lawmakers, regional parliament members, governors and local councilors, with residents in Moscow heading to polling stations from the early morning hours. According to Russia's Central Election Commission, about 111 million people, including approximately 1.8 million registered voters abroad, are eligible to vote in the parliamentary polls. Voting is taking place at polling stations, as well as through Russia’s remote electronic voting system, and will conclude at 8 pm local time on Sunday in the country’s numerous time zones. Russia stretches across 11 different time zones, so in different regions the local time will vary from GMT+2 to GMT+12. Eleven political parties are competing in the State Duma election, including the country's ruling United Russia party and the four parties currently represented in the Duma — the Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party, A Just Russia—For Truth, and New People. Five parties without parliamentary representation are also taking part, including the liberal Yabloko party, which was excluded from the ballot for the State Duma election under the party list system. However, candidates nominated by the party in single-member constituencies are taking part in the vote. The Duma has 450 seats. Half of them are filled through party lists, while the remaining 225 are contested in single-member constituencies.