Voters across Russia cast ballots Saturday on the second day of an election set to formalize six more years of power for President Vladimir Putin, who faces no serious challengers after crushing political dissent over his nearly 25 years of rule.
Quick Read
- Voters in Russia are participating in an election expected to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule for six more years, with no significant challengers due to a crackdown on dissent.
- Putin’s main opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in prison, and other critics are jailed or in exile.
- The election occurs amid Putin’s portrayal of the war in Ukraine as a defense against Western attempts to destroy Russia.
- Several incidents of vandalism at polling stations have been reported, including attempts to damage ballot boxes with green liquid, referencing an attack on Navalny.
- Lawmakers are considering new laws to punish election sabotage with up to eight years in prison.
- Ukrainian drone and missile attacks targeted deep inside Russia, including a refinery fire and an attack on a polling station in an annexed Ukrainian region.
- Despite external attacks, the Kremlin seeks high voter turnout as an endorsement of Putin’s leadership and the war in Ukraine.
- The Russian economy has shown resilience during the war, with the defense sector boosting employment and wages.
- Opposition movements encourage protest votes on the election’s final day, a strategy endorsed by Navalny before his death.
- The election’s legitimacy is questioned by Western leaders, citing the absence of genuine opposition and restricted monitoring opportunities.
The Associated Press has the story:
Russians cast ballots on Day 2 of an election preordained to extend Putin’s rule
Newslooks- (AP)
Voters across Russia cast ballots Saturday on the second day of an election set to formalize six more years of power for President Vladimir Putin, who faces no serious challengers after crushing political dissent over his nearly 25 years of rule.
The election comes against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has stifled independent media and prominent rights groups. Putin’s fiercest foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison in February, and other critics are either in jail or in exile.
The 71-year-old Putin faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties, who have refrained from any criticism of him or his invasion of Ukraine. Putin has cast his war in Ukraine, now in its third year, as an existential battle against the U.S. and other Western powers bent on destroying Russia.
Officials said voting was proceeding in an orderly fashion. But despite tight controls, at least half a dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported Friday and Saturday, including a firebombing and several people pouring green liquid into ballot boxes. The latter was an apparent homage to Navalny, who in 2017 was attacked by an assailant splashing green disinfectant in his face.
Russian state news agency Tass said a woman in the Urals city of Ekaterinburg Saturday tried to unsuccessfully throw green liquid into a ballot box while a pensioner in the Altai region in southern Siberia attempted to damage ballots. Both were detained.
Following reports of vandalism, Russian lawmakers suggested introducing a new law to punish election saboteurs with sentences of up to eight years in prison.
Also on Saturday, Ukrainian drone and missile attacks once again hit deep inside the country. Tass said an armed group also tried to penetrate Russia’s border region from Ukraine.
Two people were killed in Ukrainian shelling of the Russian border city of Belgorod, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, ordering shopping centers and schools to shut down because of the security situation. Meanwhile, local officials denied reports of explosions at polling stations in the border city, Tass said.
Dozens of people have been killed in Belgorod since the war began.
Elsewhere, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil refinery belonging to Russian oil giant Rosneft in the Samara region, 1,065 kilometers (662 miles) southeast of Moscow, the regional governor said.
A Ukrainian drone also dropped an explosive on a polling station in the illegally annexed Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Tass said.
In the run-up to the vote, Putin boasted about battlefield successes in Ukraine, where Russian troops have recently made incremental gains relying on their edge in firepower.
On Friday, Putin described the week’s cross-border shelling and incursions by Ukrainian forces as an attempt by Ukraine to frighten Russians and derail the vote. He vowed that the attacks “won’t be left unpunished.”
Despite the attacks, analysts say the Kremlin is looking for a high turnout in the elections as a sign that Russians approve of the war to legitimize Putin for another term.
The Russian defense ministry has served as a key growth engine, working around the clock to churn out missiles, tanks and ammunition and cushioning Russians from the economic impact of the war — driving down unemployment and driving up wages. Russia’s wartime economy has also proven to be resilient, expanding despite bruising Western sanctions.
Russia’s opposition movement has urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to show up at the polls at noon Sunday, the final day of voting, as a form of protest. The strategy was endorsed by Navalny not long before his death.
Voting is taking place at polling stations across Russia’s 11 time zones, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine, and online.
Western leaders have derided the vote as a travesty of democracy.
European Council President Charles Michel mockingly congratulated Putin Friday on “his landslide victory” in an election that was technically still underway. “No opposition. No freedom. No choice,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
Beyond the lack of options for voters, the possibilities for independent monitoring are very limited. No significant international observers were present. Only registered, Kremlin-approved candidates — or state-backed advisory bodies — can assign observers to polling stations, decreasing the likelihood of independent watchdogs.
