Russian President Vladimir Putin is about to tighten his grip on power in an election that is sure to give him a landslide victory, although thousands of opponents have staged a symbolic midday protest at polling stations.
Supporters of Putin's fiercest political enemy, Alexey Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, had called on Russians to come out for a “Midday Against Putin” protest to show their dissent against a leader they portrayed like a corrupt autocrat.
Navalny's associates, including his widow Yulia Navalnaya, have urged those unhappy with Putin, 71, or the ongoing war with Ukraine to protest by going to the polls at noon on Sunday, a strategy endorsed by Navalny shortly before his death.
Team Navalny described it as a success and posted photos and videos of people crowding near polling stations in cities across Russia around midday.
At a polling station in southwest Moscow, Leonid, an 18-year-old student, said there were “not that many people” participating in the protest, but he was “just happy that some people came.”
The electoral college was at a school where Navalny scored his highest result (70 percent) in his unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Moscow in 2013. He later tried to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election, but his candidacy was rejected. .
After casting his vote at a polling station where Navalny used to vote, IT worker Alexander said he had come because it was one of the few ways he could protest.
“If I hadn't done this, I would have felt like a coward,” the 29-year-old said.
Elena, 52, said people were “too afraid” to go out in large numbers. “I don't want Russia, my homeland, to be like this… I love my country; “I want it to be free.”
Putin, who came to power in 1999, will win a new six-year term that would allow him to surpass Josef Stalin and become Russia's longest-serving leader, for more than 200 years.
While Putin's re-election is not in doubt given his control over Russia and the absence of real rivals, the former KGB spy wants to show that he has the overwhelming support of Russians.
Several hours before polls closed at 18:00 GMT, nationwide turnout surpassed 2018 levels of 67.5 percent.
