Russians are bracing for potential government actions on the military and economy after a three-day parliamentary election beginning Friday that the Kremlin views as legitimizing its policies. The vote offers little outlet for discontent over the war in Ukraine, with the only antiwar party, Yabloko, barred from the ballot and United Russia candidates barely campaigning.

Rumors of forced mobilization are rampant as the military burns through troops. The economy strains under war spending, and Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries have caused fuel shortages in a major oil-producing nation. At a Lukoil station in Moscow, drivers waited 20 minutes for gas. Yuri, 37, acknowledged, "we are living in the war, and people are starting to understand it."

Anxiety is pervasive. Former Echo of Moscow editor Aleksei A. Venediktov said people fear price hikes, tax increases, mobilization, and fuel ration cards. In Samara, psychologist Anna noted repressed anxieties will eventually explode. A July Public Opinion Foundation survey found nearly 60% of Russians report anxiety among those around them, a four-year high. That month, bank withdrawals exceeded the previous six years combined, per Taras Skvortsov.