Voters answer Navalny’s call to protest as Putin extends his rule
On the final day of a presidential election with only one possible result, Russians protested Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian hold on power by forming long lines to vote against him yesterday – answering the call of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and undercutting preliminary results that led Putin to claim a landslide victory.
Russia’s Central Election Commission, which routinely bars any real challengers from running, reported that Putin had received more than 87% of the vote, with 75% of ballots counted.
Putin quickly claimed a fifth term in office, extending his rule until at least 2030.
Russia’s elections have long been widely condemned as neither free nor fair, and failing to meet basic democratic standards, with the Kremlin approving opposition candidates and tightly controlling media access. This meant Putin’s victory was preordained.
The turnout of protesters in wartime Russia, by contrast, was far less certain. Navalny had urged the action before dying suddenly in prison last month.
In his initial victory remarks, Putin commented on Navalny’s death for the first time, and confirmed reports that talks had been under way to exchange Navalny, long his most formidable political critic, for Russians imprisoned in the West.
“A few days before Mr Navalny passed away, some people told me there is an idea to exchange him with some people who are incarcerated in Western countries,” Putin said. “You can believe me or not, but even before the person could finish their phrase, I said, ‘I agree’.
“But what happened happened, unfortunately. I had only one condition – that we swap him and that he doesn’t come back. Let him sit there. But this happens. You can’t do anything about that.”
Russian authorities said Navalny died of natural causes. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused Putin of ordering his murder. The Kremlin rejects the allegations.
The “Noon Against Putin” protest, with voters forming queues at polling stations in major cities such as Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Tomsk and Novosibirsk, was a striking – if futile – display of solidarity and dissent, and challenged the Kremlin’s main message: that Putin is a legitimate president who commands massive support.
Many voters also posted photographs of their spoiled ballots with protest slogans such as “Navalny is my president”, “No to war, no to Putin” and “Putin is a murderer”.
Voting took place over three days, which some critics said would allow greater opportunity for ballot manipulation and other fraud.
Voting was also taking place in areas of Ukraine occupied by the Russian military, with reports of soldiers forcing people to vote at gunpoint.
But the three days of balloting also gave voters ample opportunity to visit polling stations at a time of their choice, making it all the more obvious that the sudden crowds had not materialized by accident.
At least 65 people were detained at polling stations in 16 Russian cities, according to OVD-Info, a legal rights group.
In addition to Putin, three other candidates were on the ballot, all essentially Kremlin-friendly figures with low profiles, in a highly managed election designed to offer a veneer of legitimacy without posing any serious threat.
The Noon Against Putin demonstration was the third recent sign of significant Russian protest or political dissent through long lines.
In January, citizens formed long lines to sign petitions required for Nadezhdin, the anti-war candidate, to secure a place on the ballot. He was later barred by authorities, who cited irregularities with the signatures.
This month, thousands waited in huge lines to attend Navalny’s funeral and for days afterward to lay flowers and leave letters at his grave.
Some frustrated Russians did not even wait for yesterday’s protest, and instead expressed their anger as soon as voting started, by setting fire to polling stations or ballots or dumping liquid into ballot boxes.
The Noon Against Putin protest was particularly striking at Russian embassies in nations with significant numbers of Russians who fled after the invasion of Ukraine. They included those in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, China, Portugal, Britain and others.
Stanislav Andreyshuk, co-chairman of Golos, an independent election watchdog that was declared a foreign agent by Russian authorities, said there had been many reports of apparent ballot stuffing.
Since taking power in 1999, Putin has steadily destroyed Russia’s fledgling democracy, curbed rights and crushed dissent. His main political rivals have been jailed, killed or forced to flee the country, while protesters risk long prison terms for criticising the war or Putin. He has repeatedly found ways to defy term limits to stay in power. – Washington Post