Renewed Elite Shows Off Epaulettes and Medals in State Duma

From Nezavisimaya gazeta, Oct. 1, 2026, p. 1. Condensed text:

. . . Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the first session of the ninth convocation of the State Duma on Sept. 30. He also separately welcomed the deputies from the four new regions [i.e., the occupied regions of Ukraine – Trans.], as well as the SMO participants and veterans elected to parliament. “I am confident that, by preserving the traditions of frontline brotherhood, they will strengthen and enhance this body of deputies,” the head of state emphasized. He named strengthening the country’s defense capability and supporting its defenders as the State Duma’s top priorities. According to Putin, societal cohesion remains the key to achieving our goals and ensuring Russia’s security and sovereignty for generations to come.

Perhaps the “veteran elite” concentrated on Okhotny Row [i.e., the Duma – Trans.] will be deployed to the corresponding areas of legislative activity. Readers are reminded that the president regularly calls to mind that the ruling class must be renewed by coopting into it those who have not cowered before bullets and who can be confidently left in charge of the country. As is known, more than fifty members of the SMO have been elected to the State Duma. In addition to United Russia, in whose faction there are exactly 50 of them, three more are members of the LDPR, and one represents A Just Russia.

“That is, actually over 10% of the total number of mandates. This is, of course, a serious difference. I think they will set a certain mood in the Duma,” CEC chair Ella Pamfilova said earlier on this matter. The president spoke about the election of special operation veterans in his address to citizens just before the vote. On Sept. 28, Putin again recalled the importance of the participation of SMO heroes in the development of the country: “The elections yet again showed that the people supported the heroes fighting for Russia, and the elections confirmed this once more. It is natural that all the parliamentary parties included among their candidates SMO veterans, who had proved their loyalty to Russia in combat. And I have no doubt that they will serve the Fatherland just as devotedly in the parliamentary and civil arenas.”

While there are still no specifics about what the role of the “deputies from the SMO” should be, it can be assumed that they were used only to enhance United Russia’s campaign PR. And next they will simply start working like all ordinary members of parliament. However, at the very least, veterans can be brought forward when the need arises to promote certain legislative initiatives. Previously, the notorious “requests from the workers” served this purpose [in the Soviet Union], but now the “soldier’s voice” will appear. Experts interviewed by NG are still cautious about what the frontline group’s position in the Duma might be, but they confidently reject the possibility of them forming even an informal interfactional association.

Aleksei Mukhin, general director of the Center for Political Information, told NG that “The election of SMO veterans is presented as the fulfillment of the will and specific instructions of the president. During the election campaign, United Russia, and subsequently other parties, took on the honorable duty of including participants in the special operation on their [candidate] lists. And in this regard, the number of 50 people is a coincidence; this number was not adjusted in any way by political ‘numerology.’ ” In his opinion, the veterans will work in the State Duma without forming an informal association – that is, like everyone else. However, he noted, “Putin can ‘break’ this model by meeting with them separately, for example, and giving them special instructions.” In this case, some political formalization could probably occur, but Mukhin believes this is still unlikely: “The State Duma has enough actors to carry out special assignments from the president.”

Konstantin Kalachov, head of the Political Expert Group, believes that “the number of veterans elected must have impressed the big boss.” According to him, they will likely soon be declared the foundation of a kind of “new nobility.” It is no wonder that the press secretary of the Russian president called “the authority and iron will of the heroes of the special operation the key to their successful work in elected office.” Meanwhile, Kalachov is confident that participation in the SMO will not be the sole and determining factor in a person’s future integration into government bodies; it will merely be an additional, albeit significant, biographical fact: “The SMO participants are all different, especially the volunteers. They have different backgrounds and different competencies. At the same time, of course, they have passed the patriotism test.”

Moreover, he believes that in addition to creating a new elite, the authorities also face the very specific task of integrating those who have returned from the front into civilian life, and only then into bodies of authority. The same processes, Kalachov recalled, took place after all major military events. “The authorities’ main task is to dispel the prejudice among the population that veterans cannot become deputies. However, they will probably not put themselves at risk with further restrictive [legislative] initiatives. They should promote not restrictive initiatives, but, on the contrary, popular ones, for example, those of a social nature,” he noted. But of course, he did not rule out that certain “banning and tightening proposals” could come from veterans – just like “from any State Duma deputy,” for that matter. “A State Duma deputy today is, first and foremost, a disciplined and loyal person, prepared to adhere to faction and committee discipline. Yes, the government will expand the presence of SMO veterans in legislative and representative bodies. But there will be no ‘combat brotherhood’ in the State Duma,” Kalachov asserts.

Aleksei Makarkin, first vice-president of the Center for Political Technologies, reminded NG that since the majority of veterans are members of United Russia, no one will split the ruling faction for the sake of an informal association of veterans. At the same time, in his opinion, the current convocation is more of a training ground for such deputies. It is no coincidence that most of the committee heads are experienced politicians, not military veterans. “It seems that there will be no hard-and-fast changes. The changeover of the elite is happening gradually; it is not a revolutionary process, but an evolutionary one,” Makarkin emphasized. According to him, veterans will coauthor many bills and be the main initiators of those concerning social support for SMO participants returning from the front. “Having SMO veterans put forward further tightening measures is an overly complex and, moreover, unnecessary arrangement in the current system,” he commented.