Ahead of the State Duma elections scheduled for September 18–20, the youth wings of Russian political parties have intensified their activity on TikTok. Seeking to reach voters who grew up during the Putin era, the parties are using short videos as well as internet memes, everyday language and anti-establishment rhetoric.
Although the parties’ content focuses on corruption, rising prices, transportation and other everyday problems, the political options remain within the limits set by the Kremlin. According to 2021 data, Russia has 27.2 million voters aged 18–35, a group that makes up about a quarter of all voters.
Anti-war sentiment among young voters
Research by the independent Levada Center shows that young Russians are prominent among groups holding anti-war views. Support for peace talks with Ukraine is measured at a higher level among people under 24 than among older age groups.
Young people were also among those supporting Yabloko, which is known for its anti-war position. During proceedings at the Supreme Court over a request to bar Yabloko from standing in the election with its party list, most of those who gathered were Muscovites under 30, including teenagers.
LDPR brings Zhirinovsky’s style to short videos
Alexander Berkutov, who lives in the city of Ocher in the Perm region, imitates in his TikTok posts the harsh and flamboyant speaking style of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the former nationalist politician who founded the LDPR in 1989 and died in 2022. In videos produced in front of a green screen, Berkutov addresses corruption, closed public toilets and the problems faced by ordinary people.
Berkutov, who began posting videos in the eighth grade, has about 8,000 followers. In his early videos, he questioned propaganda lessons taught at school, praised Zhirinovsky and discussed Russian politics through the Minecraft game.
In one post, Berkutov criticized United Russia over rising taxes, saying that bread had become more expensive, stores were closing and officials were talking about oversight from their podiums. The video was viewed about 1 million times, while another video he made about corruption and arms dealer Viktor Bout received more than 350,000 views.
At least 35 TikTok accounts are linked to the LDPR. Teenagers who have built their own followings are among the young people running these accounts. What unites them is their admiration for Zhirinovsky.
Communist youth wing advocates change within the Kremlin’s limits
There is no common minimum age requirement for the youth wings of Russian political parties. The Communist Party admits children aged 9–14 to an organization called the Young Pioneers.
Olga Serikova runs the TikTok account of Komsomol Moskvy, the Communist Party’s youth wing. Serikova uses Grand Theft Auto references, popular songs and internet memes to appeal to young people. The account’s posts also criticize United Russia and the LDPR.
Komsomol Moskvy argues that political change should be pursued through methods permitted by the Kremlin. The youth wing also publishes content targeting protest movements outside Russia, anti-war Russians and opposition figures in exile.
In 2024, Serikova traveled with Komsomol Moskvy to Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, where she met with local Communist Party youth activists. At the same time, the youth wing criticized the authorities’ repression of anti-war Russians and opposition figures.
AI content highlights local problems
The left-leaning A Just Russia party established a youth wing in 2020 open to people aged 16–35. Its organization in Karelia shares TikTok videos created with artificial intelligence and featuring yellow-skinned figures resembling characters from The Simpsons.
The videos address corruption as well as aging public transportation vehicles, prices in high school cafeterias, queues at gas stations and potholes in the roads. A video about queues at gas stations featuring residents of Petrozavodsk was viewed about 200,000 times.
The party’s account in Karelia was launched in May, several months before the elections. A blogger named Nicole, who studied law and works as a photographer, also joined the party; Nicole has about 2,000 social media followers.
TikTok visibility alone does not show political participation
Although youth wings bring everyday problems into public discussion, there is debate over whether these activities translate into meaningful political participation. Leonid Spirin, who studies youth politics, said that most party content is shaped around aesthetic choices, colors, internet language and symbols.
According to Spirin, young people may adopt different party symbols and forms of address, but these preferences do not translate into clear positions on the war, the Putin administration or concrete political action. TikTok visibility therefore does not, on its own, reveal the scope of young voters’ political preferences.
