The pro-Kremlin United Russia Party won the election for the Russian Duma, or lower house of parliament, on Sunday.

In spite of earlier expectations, many Russians did no bother to vote. Figures indicated a lower turnout than the 1999 Duma elections, with only 60 percent of the 110 million eligible voters casting a ballot.

However, political analysts regard the low turnout as indicative of the fact that the Russian people are not satisfied with the performance of some of the political parties.

Preliminary results showed that only seven out of the 23 parties participating in the election crossed the five-percent threshold required to enter the Duma.

The pro–Putin United Russia party gained the most votes, followed by the Communist Party, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), and the Motherland Party. The Union of Right Forces (SPS) and the Yabloko Party did particularly badly. Overall, results showed that power in the Duma was shifting ever further in the Kremlin's favor, reflecting Putin’s power in Russia ahead of a presidential election in March.

As a matter of fact, under the Putin administration Russia has made significant achievements in foreign policy and has emerged from political isolation. However, Russia has not been able to regain its former status as a superpower, which it enjoyed during the Soviet era, and as a result has not been able to be an effective counterweight to U.S. bullying around the world.

The Russian president has not taken a dynamic stance in regard to the U.S. war in Afghanistan, its occupation of Iraq, the Palestinian issue, and White House officials’ illogical interference in Central Asian and Caspian Sea affairs.

Also, as far as domestic issues are concerned, the vast influence of the military and former intelligence agency officials over the Putin administration has caused serious problems and slowed the pace of reform. All this has resulted in public discontent, particularly among the youth.

However, with the victory of the United Russia party in the State Duma elections, political analysts do not expect very significant changes in the domestic or foreign policy of the country and they believe the status quo will be maintained in the future, too.