2024-03-17 09:45:28
International
Entered 2024.03.17 18:45 Modified 2024.03.17 18:45 Ground A12
Russian presidential election resistance movement spreads
Pouring liquid into the ballot box
Election posters were damaged one following anotherAttacks on Ukrainian and Russian oil refineries, etc.
On the 16th (local time) in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, a Russian youth patriotic group holds a ‘V-shaped’ flash mob, meaning victory, with the flags of Russia and the Donetsk People’s Republic. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an anti-government Russian businessman, criticized this presidential election, in which Putin’s fifth term was virtually confirmed, calling it a “political flash mob.” Tass Yonhap News Since the three-day Russian presidential election began on the 15th, the resistance movement of Russian citizens opposing President Vladimir Putin’s long-term rule has been spreading. Activities such as damaging ballot papers and election posters, setting fire to polling places, and throwing smoke bombs occurred in various places. Ukrainian forces also continued attacks on major oil refineries in Russia.
According to foreign media such as French media Le Monde on the 17th, an incident occurred on the 15th at a polling station in Moscow, the capital of Russia, when a female voter poured green liquid, believed to be ink, into a transparent ballot box, damaging the ballot paper. On the same day, ballot papers were damaged using similar methods in Voronezh, Rostov, Volgograd, and the Crimea. In some areas, incidents of setting fire to polling places also occurred. At a polling station in Moscow, a female voter set fire to a polling place, and in St. Petersburg and Siberia, a voter threw a Molotov cocktail at a polling station and election posters. According to the Russian Central Election Commission, in the first two days of the presidential election, there were 20 incidents of attempts to damage ballots by pouring various liquids into ballot boxes, and there were 8 attempts to set fire to and throw smoke bombs. On the 15th, the first day of the Russian presidential election, a An arson incident occurred targeting a ballot box at a polling place. On this day, the Russian Election Commission announced that 15 incidents of voting disruption, including arson and ink throwing, occurred across the country. Capture from Russian independent media outlet Medusa Telegram. In Russian politics, there is an analysis that this sabotage is a resistance movement by supporters of anti-government activist Alexei Navalny. Navalny, who was called ‘Putin’s political enemy,’ died mysteriously in prison last month. Navalny faced the risk of going blind following being sprayed with green disinfectant by a gunman in 2017. Previously, Navalny supporters announced that they would hold protests at polling places across the country at 12 noon on the 17th, the last day of the presidential election.
Ukraine also continued its offensive once morest mainland Russia. Reuters reported on the 17th that the Russian air defense system destroyed a number of drones heading toward Moscow. A Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire and killed one person at the Slavyansk oil refinery in Krasnodar Oblast, local officials said. In some quarters, controversy over President Putin’s election fraud is also spreading. Russian independent media outlet Sirena reported on the 15th that some local polling places provided pens with special ink that disappears when heated as marking tools. In Russia, people vote by directly drawing a line with a pen in the space indicating the candidate. This is why there is great concern that voting results will be manipulated during the vote counting process.
The electronic voting system introduced for the first time this year is one of the controversial issues. The Russian government implemented electronic voting for the first time in 27 regions and two occupied territories in Ukraine. Russian civic groups poured out criticism, saying that there was room for manipulation as the vote counting process might not be monitored.
Despite various controversies, it is assessed that President Putin’s election to a fifth term has already been confirmed. This is because the competitor’s approval rating is low. Instead, the analysis is that the vote rate is important. This is due to the observation that the opposition can be suppressed only if it breaks the highest vote rate in 2018 (76.69%) and exceeds the 80% range. When President Putin takes office on May 7, he will rule Russia until 2030. He has been in power for a total of 30 years since he was first elected in 2000. It surpasses the record of former Soviet Communist Party Secretary Joseph Stalin (29 years) in power. Because the ban on three consecutive terms was neutralized through the 2020 constitutional amendment, he can also run in the 2030 election.
Reporter Oh Hyun-woo ohw@hankyung.com
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