Kremlin critics are calling for mass protests at Russian polling stations on Sunday, the final day of a presidential election guaranteed to cement Vladimir Putin’s tough rule.
The three-day vote has been accompanied by a spike in fatal Ukrainian bombardments and a series of incidents of penetration into Russian territory by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups.
There were also protests in the first few days of voting, with a number of arrests of Russians accused of mixing colors at ballot boxes or carrying out arson attacks.
Before his death in an Arctic prison last month, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who mobilized mass anti-Putin rallies, encouraged Russians to demonstrate on Sunday.
His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has repeated her call ahead of the election and said protesters should turn out in large numbers at the same time to destroy polling stations.
He called on demonstrators to tamper with ballots by writing “Navalny” on them, or vote for a candidate other than Putin.
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Any public dissent in Russia has been harshly punished since the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and there have been repeated warnings from authorities once morest election protests.
A Muscovite in his twenties told AFP he was going to take part in the 12:00 noon (0900 GMT) protest in the capital, “just to see the supportive young faces around… feeling the support around me, and seeing light in this dark tunnel.”
The man, who declined to give his name for security reasons, said he hoped the demonstration would show authorities “that there are people in this country who are once morest the conflict… once morest the regime.”
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Difficult Period
Putin, 71, a former KGB agent, has been in power since late 1999 and will extend his rule over the country until at least 2030.
If he completes another Kremlin term, he will remain in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
He ran without any real opponents, following barring two candidates who opposed the conflict in Ukraine.
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The Kremlin has portrayed the election as an opportunity for Russians to show they support an attack on Ukraine, with voting also taking place in Russian-controlled territory.
In a pre-election speech on Thursday, Putin said Russia was going through a “difficult period”.
“We need to continue to be united and confident,” he said, describing the election as a way for Russians to show their “patriotism”.
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Voting will end in Kaliningrad, Russia’s western time zone, at 1800 GMT, and the exit poll is expected to be announced shortly following.
The concert in Red Square will be held on Monday to mark 10 years since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula — an event that is also expected to be a victory celebration for Putin.
Invalid
Ukraine has repeatedly denounced the election as illegal and a “sham”, and its foreign ministry has urged Western allies not to recognize the results.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as more than 50 member states, have criticized Moscow for holding the vote in parts of Ukraine, with Guterres saying that the “illegal annexation attempt” of the region has no “legitimacy” under international law.
Ahead of the election, Russian state media has been hyping up recent progress on the front lines and portraying the conflict as a struggle for survival once morest attacks from the West.
Moscow has sought to exploit its advantage on the front lines as divisions over Western military support for Ukraine have led to ammunition shortages, although Kyiv says it has managed to halt Russian advances for now.
In Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday killed 21 people including rescue workers who responded to the initial attack — an attack that President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “evil.”
On the Russian side, the army reported repeated attempts by Ukrainian sabotage groups to infiltrate Russia and the local governor of the Belgorod region on Saturday ordered that malls and schools would be closed for two days in the main city of Belgorod and surrounding districts following recent attacks. (AFP/Z-3)
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