Kremlin Does Not Intend To Share Real Power With 'SMO Heroes' Intelligence

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated this in an article, Ukrinform reports.

Russia is preparing for the 2026 parliamentary elections, the first since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The United Russia party, formally headed by Dmitry Medvedev, had actively promoted the idea of significant representation of SMO (special military operation) participants in the new State Duma. Initially, the plans were ambitious: the Kremlin considered bringing in 100–150 “veterans” (about a quarter of the 450 seats).

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After Putin in 2024 called participants in the war the “true elite,” United Russia and the Kremlin actively promoted them for депутат positions at various levels.

“But the results were disappointing. In the primaries ahead of the 2024 moscow city duma elections, all 15 registered participants in the ‘special military operation’ lost. And those who did win seats ended up in municipal bodies, not at higher levels. Moreover, many regional ‘curators’ resorted to trickery: under the guise of ‘veterans,’ they nominated people known more for their previous political or business activities than for actual ‘heroic deeds’ on the front lines,” the report says.

As for the 2026 elections, the Kremlin has effectively abandoned the large-scale experiment. Regions will no longer be required to nominate “veteran” candidates. The priority now is not a heroic background, but full loyalty and controllability. “SMO” participants are treated as “one-time deputies,” needed “at a certain moment” and “in limited numbers.” Expectations have dropped to a maximum of 70–80 seats, and even that figure is widely doubted.

According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, this means one thing: the Kremlin is not ready to grant “SMO heroes” real power or significant privileges. Instead of seats in the State Duma - promises that are already often unfulfilled. In some regions, “veterans” are offered little more than a stall at a market. Upon returning home, they face indifference, corruption, and economic decline. The war has taken their health, while the state is not ready to compensate for it either morally or materially.

After World War II, defeated Nazi Germany managed to carry out reforms, reinvent itself, and become one of the most successful economies in the world. In contrast, the USSR, despite its status as a “victor,” remained a poor and inefficient system that eventually collapsed. Modern Russia has inherited the same model: authoritarianism, corruption, and dependence on raw materials.

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“A war for an empire guarantees nothing but poverty and betrayal for those who fought. Russian soldiers returning from the front should remember: their dossiers in the Kremlin are not for awards, but for screening and the rubbish dump. There will be no paradise,” the Foreign Intelligence Service concluded.

As Ukrinform reported, intelligence also explained how “career elevators” actually work in Russia.

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