Meduza: Russian security forces are persuading Putin to postpone the State Duma elections. This idea has become more popular after Ukraineʼs attacks

Russian security forces want to convince Vladimir Putin to postpone the State Duma elections. This idea is being promoted by FSB leaders and the head of the Rosgvardia Viktor Zolotov a longtime friend and former bodyguard of Putin.

Meduza writes about this, citing sources.

According to one of the interlocutors, talks about postponing, and in fact, canceling the elections in the near future, began back in the spring of 2026. There are several reasons for this: budget problems, rising prices, cost reductions, and layoffs at enterprises.

At the beginning of the full-scale war, the security forces were already suggesting that Putin cancel the gubernatorial elections. Both Meduza and the pro-government “Kommersant” wrote about this at the time. However, the head of the political bloc of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko, convinced Putin not to do this.

A Meduza source in Putinʼs administration clarifies that for now, talks about postponing the elections remain just talks.

The main arguments of the security forces are the worsening economic situation and the falling ratings of the United Russia party. As Meduza notes, in a democratic system, a rating of 35% would be considered quite high, but United Russia has traditionally set a goal of approaching 50% of the vote. In the face of economic difficulties, problems with gasoline, and public fatigue from war, this is becoming increasingly difficult.

According to Meduzaʼs sources, the security forces are opposed by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, the political bloc of the Presidential Administration headed by Kiriyenko, and the information bloc headed by Oleksiy Gromov.

“For Gromov and especially for Kiriyenko, the federal elections are a moment of truth when you need to show why you are needed at all,” explains a political strategist who works with the political bloc.

For Medvedev, the elections could be a chance to win the post of State Duma speaker. According to the source, the former Russian president wants to head the United Russia list, which he failed to do during the previous campaign.

According to a source close to the Presidential Administration, Putin himself also supports holding the elections.

A political strategist working with Putinʼs administration calls holding elections on time a symbolic issue. A Meduza source in the State Duma office shares this view. At the same time, he notes that there is an atmosphere of uncertainty in Russian power structures.

The State Duma elections are scheduled for September 18-20. These dates have already been officially announced by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. A source close to Putinʼs administration calls the elections a "baseline scenario" and emphasizes that once the dates are officially set, it is much more difficult to cancel or postpone the elections.

At the same time, according to him, after the Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, there has been "significantly more" talk about a possible postponement or cancellation of the elections. This is confirmed by a political strategist close to the political bloc of the Presidential Administration.

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