During this year’s campaign, candidates with war experience received disproportionate attention from state media and on social platforms. Promoting these “war candidates”, after all, serves multiple purposes. Two of these leaders were elected this month, such as United Russia’s Evgeny Pervyshov in the Tambov oblast, where he received 74% of the vote. While all political parties have become more active in fielding “SVO veterans”, the majority of candidates who secured victories were nominated by United Russia. This comes in a context in which Russia’s regional elections are already losing their function as signals of public opinion, in turn undermining authoritarian control.