“Elections Without a Choice”: The kremlin Is Pushing Militants and Plunderers Into the state duma

On September 20, russia plans to hold illegal “elections” to the state duma in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The list of candidates from occupied Donetsk region reveals the future moscow has in store for the seized territories: militants – in power; veterans of russian aggression – in schools; and Ukrainian property – in the hands of new russian owners.

Especially telling are the pre-election statements by some “united russia”’s candidates. oleksandr hrydenko, who fought on russia’s side and serves as a communications platoon commander in the “wild division of the donbas” militia group, is effectively proposing to enshrine a special status for “special military operation” participants in the occupied region. This goes beyond mere benefits and business preferences. He proposes allowing former combatants into schools, universities, and youth centers as mentors, advisors, and coaches. In his own words, their combat experience should become “the foundation upon which a new generation must grow”. In other words, children in the occupied territory are being offered not a return to normal life after the war, but the institutionalization of war as a means of raising the next generation.

Even more brazen is the campaign platform of participant of “primaries” danylo lytvynenko. The document outlines his proposal to designate real estate in the occupied territories as “ownerless” and to allow for its transfer, free of charge, to citizens of the russian federation. This refers, in particular, to houses and flats whose owners have fled the occupation and cannot return. The cynicism of this scheme is obvious: first, war and occupation force Ukrainians to leave their homes, and then the absence of an owner is proposed as a basis for transferring their property to someone else.

This is no longer just a campaign for parliamentary seats. What we are witnessing is a political model of occupation: a soldier is given the role of an educator; a collaborator is granted political status; and housing abandoned due to the war is given a new owner.

And these are not isolated cases. Among the candidates there are serhiy dobrovolskyi – head of the occupation’s youth organizations and a former member of the illegal armed group “pyatnashka”; yevhen sobolev – a member of the “special military operation” and an employee of the occupation administration; ivan valov – a member of “united russia” and a participant of the of “special military operation”; and volodymyr bodachevskyi – secretary of the “united russia” branch in occupied Donetsk.

The kremlin’s plan is taking on very specific contours: first, drive out the Ukrainians through war; then, seize their homes; and finally, seat those who fought against Ukraine in parliament and put them in charge of educating Ukrainian children.

History has already provided the answer to those who choose to collaborate with the occupier. In particular, in France during the Nazi occupation, the resistance executed about 3,500 collaborators. After liberation from Nazi occupation, large-scale trials were held in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark against those who had collaborated with the invaders. According to different estimates, in those five countries, about 170,000 people were imprisoned, approximately 11,000 received death sentences, and about 2,500 were executed.

All those involved in organizing and conducting the russian sham elections on occupied Ukrainian territory will face appropriate legal consequences.