‘Noon against Putin’: Russians rally to fulfill Navalny’s dying wish

Thousands of people turned out at polling stations in Russia and capitals around the world on Sunday to take part in what the anti-Kremlin opposition said was a peaceful but symbolic protest against the re-election of President Vladimir Putin.

In a move dubbed ‘afternoon against Putin’, Russians opposed to the veteran Kremlin leader went to their local polling station in the afternoon to spoil their ballot or vote for one of three anti-Putin candidates, from who is widely expected to win. by a landslide.

Others had pledged to write the name of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, on their ballots, and some visited Navalny’s grave in Moscow to symbolically vote for him.

Navalny’s allies broadcast videos on YouTube of lines of people queuing at various polling stations across Russia in the afternoon, who they said were there to peacefully protest.

Navalny had endorsed the ‘Noon against Putin’ plan before his death in a social media post facilitated by his lawyers. The independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta called the planned action “Navalny’s political testament”.

“There is very little hope, but if you can do something like this, you should do it. There is nothing left of democracy,” said a young woman, who did not give her name and whose face was blurred by Navalny’s team. at one polling station.

Another young woman at a different polling station, whose identity was similarly disguised, said she had voted for the “least questionable” of the three candidates running against Putin.

A male student who voted in Moscow told Navalny’s channel that people like him, who disagreed with the current system, should continue living their lives no matter what.

“History has shown that changes happen at the most unexpected times,” he said.

Despite the demonstrators – who represent a small part of Russia’s 114 million voters – Putin is poised to consolidate his grip on power in an election that is sure to give him a major victory.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova questioned whether all those who voted at foreign embassies were opponents of Putin and accused Western media of spreading propaganda about the events.

“Russian citizens did not come to the meetings and performances that unfriendly regimes and their paid information services try to present,” Zakharova said.

“They came to cast their votes. Who they voted for and how they voted is their free choice. But the fact that they rejected the calls of the marginalized is clear to everyone.”

PROTEST

The Kremlin has branded Navalny’s political allies – most of whom are based outside Russia – as dangerous extremists bent on destabilizing the country on behalf of the West. It says Putin enjoys overwhelming support among ordinary Russians, pointing to opinion polls that put his approval rating above 80%.

Because Russia’s vast land mass spanned eleven time zones, protest voters were spread out rather than concentrated in a single mass, making it difficult to estimate how many people turned out for the protest event.

The size of the queues at each polling station shown on Navalny’s channel ranged from a few dozen people to several hundred people.

Reuters journalists saw a slight increase in the flow of voters, mainly young people, at some polling stations in Moscow and Yekaterinburg around noon, with queues of several hundred people, and in some places even thousands.

Some said they were protesting even though there were few outward signs to distinguish them from ordinary voters.

Leonid Volkov, an exiled Navalny aide who was attacked with a hammer in Vilnius last week, estimated that hundreds of thousands of people had turned out at polling stations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and other cities.

Reuters could not independently verify that estimate.

Hundreds of Russians were queuing at polling stations at Russian diplomatic missions in Australia, Japan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Germany and Britain at noon.

In Berlin, Navalny’s widow, Yulia, showed up at the Russian embassy to take part in the protest event there, along with Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokesperson. Other Russians present clapped and chanted her name.

Not all Russians who came to vote seemed to be opponents. In London, a man queuing to vote wore a top that read “Jesus is my savior.” Putin is my president’.

Others registered a protest.

“We have not been heard for the past thirty years. Nobody listened to us. We have moved, we have emigrated, and even here, far away from Russia, we feel the consequences of not being heard,” said voter Natalia Cherednikova in London. .

Ukrainian drones target Moscow and disrupt power

Ukraine launched another massive wave of drone strikes on Sunday as Russians cast their votes on the final day of a presidential vote that would extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule for another six years. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it downed 35 Ukrainian drones in one night, including four in the Moscow region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties or damage.

First print: March 17, 2024 | 10:51 PM IST