Russians vote on Sunday on the last day of a poll intended to celebrate the triumph of Vladimir Putin, even if repression, the death of opponent Alexeï Navalny and the assault on Ukraine constitute the backdrop to the election .
Critics of the Russian president, who has been in charge of the country for 24 years, wanted to show themselves by going to vote at the same time, at noon on Sunday. In places, crowds were visible, elsewhere the influx was more modest, AFP journalists noted.
These protests will not affect the very predictable outcome of the vote. Initial estimates and the results of a poll from a state institute, Vtsiom, should be known shortly after the closing of the last polling stations at 6 p.m. in the Kaliningrad enclave, and confirm Vladimir Putin’s victory.
The president, aged 71, faces three hand-picked and insignificant candidates. The opposition has been decimated by years of repression which has further accelerated with the conflict in Ukraine.
The entire week was also marked by deadly strikes and attempted armed incursions from Ukraine into Russian territory, responses to the daily bombings and assaults by Kremlin forces in its neighbor for more than two years.
On Sunday, a sixteen-year-old girl was killed in an air attack on the town of Belgorod, close to the border and very often targeted.
A drone strike blamed on Ukraine also caused a refinery fire in southern Russia, with regional authorities reporting one death after a heart attack.
Despite these attacks, a prolonged deadly conflict and increasingly restricted freedoms, the master of the Kremlin can count on very real popularity and sees the election as a demonstration of unity of the Russians behind him.
The opposition at noon
“We must confirm our unity,” he insisted on Thursday, the country being, in his mind, the target of a war hatched by the West.
A vision shared by many of his compatriots. “The actions that the West inflicts on us only further unite the Russian people,” swears to AFP Lyubov Piankova, a 70-year-old retiree from Saint Petersburg, the head of state’s hometown.
In order to display a united front, it was also important for the Kremlin to ensure a high participation rate. At the start of the afternoon, this stood at 66%, according to official figures.
Vladimir Putin’s main detractors are dead, in prison or in exile, a repression which culminated with the mysterious death of Alexeï Navalny in an Arctic prison.
Opponents nevertheless wanted to show that they exist, as during Navalny’s funeral when crowds paid tribute to him in Moscow.
If the opponents have no chance of influencing the vote, they nevertheless want to show that they exist, as during Navalny’s funeral when crowds paid tribute to him in Moscow.
Yulia Navalnaïa, who promised despite her exile to take up the torch from her husband, called on her supporters to go to the polls at the same time, at noon on Sunday.
At the appointed time, some polling stations saw a large influx, in others it was much more limited.
“It’s the last form of protest where you can express yourself freely,” said Alexandre, 29. “If I hadn’t done that, I would have felt like a coward.”
In another district of Moscow, Marino, in front of the office where Alexei Navalny was voting, a small number of voters responded.
“I was able to meet a few people, talk to them, and I felt that they thought the same thing as me. I am not alone,” says Olga, 52, before leaving with her son to pay her respects at the grave of the opponent, buried in the neighborhood.
In the cemetery, dozens of people marched, placing fresh flowers on the grave as well as bulletins to which Navalny’s name was added.
One word recalls a quote that the opponent appreciated: “To triumph, evil only needs the inaction of good people.”
Incursions and drones
With regard to Ukraine, while the conflict has probably cost the lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, the Kremlin strives to triumphantly present recent conquests, although limited in scale.
All week, the Russian army also had to repel attempted armed incursions from Ukraine, assaults claimed by anti-Putin units claiming to be composed of Russians.
A group, the “Siberian Battalion” claimed on Sunday morning to have entered a Russian hamlet, Gorkovsky.
Several people have died in these regions in recent days in addition to drone, rocket and artillery attacks, even if Russian anti-aircraft defense seems able to shoot down most of the projectiles.
The Russian army said on Sunday that it had destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones flying over several regions, including Moscow, overnight.
Moscow, for its part, continues its bombing of Ukraine. A strike killed 21 people in Odessa on Friday.