Russian TV channels are required to give airtime to debates before elections. The parties just don’t show up.
Televised debates for candidates in elections to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, have begun airing on Russian television. Russian law requires state TV channels to give parties and candidates free airtime, but they cannot fill all of it with campaign ads — at least half must go to joint campaign events such as discussions, roundtables, and debates.
Public debate in modern Russia has been in decline for years. Vladimir Putin has never once taken part in a debate during his time in power, and many United Russia candidates have followed his lead. By the 2026 campaign, substantive political discussion had all but disappeared — though some of this year’s debates are still worth watching.
In Ryazan, the channel Russia 1 spent two days straight trying — and failing — to get State Duma candidates into its studio. On both occasions, the host said goodbye to viewers right after her opening remarks, with all six lecterns around her standing empty.
In Buryatia, by contrast, Bair Tsyrenov, a candidate from Russia’s Communist Party (KPRF), did make it into the studio. On air, he called on his United Russia opponent to join him in open debates. But before he could finish, the broadcast cut away to a government meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
Some candidates split the difference between skipping the debate and delivering a fiery speech: they simply stay silent on air. Alexey Chernov, a candidate from the Direct Democracy Party, took 25 seconds to answer the moderator’s question, then stood silently in front of the camera for another 35 seconds. The moderator tried to coax him along, saying, “maybe something will come to mind,” but Chernov said nothing else would.
Clips from these debates have spread widely on social media, but watching live remains the surest way to see them. Journalists have noted that TV channels delete recordings of debate broadcasts “at the request of the copyright holder.”
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