2024-03-17 18:14:00
Protests broke out on the final day of Russia’s presidential election
Voters line up at a voting center in St. Petersburg, Russia, at noon local time this Sunday. (Photo: AP)
In Russia, protests occurred at voting centers this Sunday, the last day of the elections in which Russian President Vladmir Putin is expected to extend his long hegemony in power.
The lines at some polling stations in Russia suddenly grew around 12 pm local time this Sunday, the time when supporters of the late opposition leader Alexey Navalny called on people to turn out collectively in a show of support for the opposition.
A CNN crew at a voting center in Moscow said the line grew quickly within five to 10 minutes around noon, and estimated that 150 people had arrived.
The CNN team noted that police were letting people pass in batches through the doors to go through security, with metal detectors and bag checks inside the building.
A 39-year-old voter said he had come at noon “to see other people, and they came too.”
One woman told the CNN team: “It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen a line for the election.” Asked why she had come at that hour, she simply replied: “You know why. I think everyone in this line knows why.”
Social media channels created by Navalny supporters showed videos of lines in several locations, including Moscow neighborhoods such as Nekrasovka and on Tservkaya Street, and towns in St. Petersburg. Navalny’s team also posted an image of the city of Novosibirsk with the caption: “Today is #noon. The protest has already taken place in the first cities of Siberia. We are waiting for you.”
This Sunday, more supporters of the Kremlin critic gathered around his grave to offer their condolences. A video shows dozens of people gathered around the grave at Moscow’s Borisovsky cemetery, with some laying flowers while others remain silent or take photos.
Russians abroad also responded to calls from Navalny supporters to protest at polling stations, forming long lines outside Russian embassies in Berlin and London.
For her part, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, was photographed this Sunday in Berlin greeting supporters who were demonstrating once morest Putin.
Earlier this month, Yulia called for “an all-Russian protest action,” adding: “Alexey called to participate in this midday action once morest Putin and that is why it is so important to me.”
He asked his supporters to register their protest by simultaneously showing up at the polling stations, and then make their own decision to vote once morest Putin, write to Navalny, invalidate his ballot, or simply leave in silent protest.
Speaking on YouTube, Navalnaya said the protests “will take place not only in every city, but in every district of every city, millions of Russians can participate and tens of millions more will watch.”
Navalny, Putin’s most prominent opponent, died at age 47 in an Arctic prison on Feb. 16, sparking condemnation from world leaders and accusations from his aides that he had been murdered. The Kremlin denied any involvement in his death.
Voting in the presidential election has seen some acts of civil disobedience, and Russia filed at least 15 criminal cases following people poured ink into ballot boxes, started fires or threw Molotov cocktails.
More than 60 Russians were detained this Sunday in 16 Russian cities, according to the independent human rights group OVD-Info.
Dissent has been banned in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
This Sunday was the third and final day of voting, in which Putin is almost assured of his fifth term.
The vote took place in the country’s 11 time zones – from the far eastern regions near Alaska to the western enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast – and in its 88 federal entities, including parts of occupied Ukraine. illegally annexed by Russia.
Voting centers in all but the westernmost regions of Russia have closed their doors and the first election results are expected to be known this Sunday following 9 pm Moscow time (2 pm ET).
Participation in the elections exceeded 70% of voters eligible to vote, according to the Electoral Commission, and the percentage of people who voted in the last hours exceeded the final participation of 2018, according to official figures.
Putin’s re-election would extend his term until at least 2030. Following the constitutional changes of 2020, he might run once more and remain in power until 2036, making him the longest-serving Russian ruler since the dictator. Soviet Joseph Stalin.
CNN’s Seb Shukla and Fred Pleitgen contributed reporting.
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