Rosenberg: Russia's elections will have few surprises, but for the Kremlin they matter

Figure caption, Low expectations that Russia's election will bring peace closer, Steve Rosenberg reportsBySteve RosenbergRussia editor, Reporting fromMoscow and DmitrovThe system of power in Russia is often referred to as "managed democracy" (where the Kremlin does the managing).That means huge powers for the president and few political surprises.This weekend's election is set to deliver another parliament dominated by the party of power, United Russia, and a house of MPs fiercely loyal to Vladimir Putin.Critics dismiss the vote as neither free nor fair.But the Kremlin doesn't care what the critics say."We have our own political system, our own political process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained recently.That means no curveballs for the Kremlin. No surprises. So no story?Far from it.For the Kremlin, the election of 450 deputies to the lower house of parliament, the Duma, is important. This is the first parliamentary election here since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin will use it to claim that most Russians back the president and the war, as well as to promote the political careers of soldiers back from Ukraine: officials say nearly two hundred war vet...