Russians crowded outside polling stations at midday Sunday, March 17, on the last day of a three-day presidential election, apparently heeding an opposition call to protest against President Vladimir Putin, who is poised to extend his rule of nearly a quarter century for six more years after a relentless crackdown on dissidents.
The election that began Friday has taken place in a tightly controlled environment where there are no real alternatives to Putin, no public criticism of him or his war in Ukraine. Putin's fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile.
Navalny's associates have urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to protest by coming to the polls at noon on Sunday, a strategy endorsed by Navalny shortly before his death. Navalny's team broadcast footage with comments by those who turned up at the polls at noon to protest Putin, their faces blurred to protect their identities. "The action has achieved its goals," Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a YouTube broadcast. "The action has shown that there is another Russia, there are people who stand against Putin."
It wasn't possible to confirm if the voters shown lining up at polling stations had responded to the protest call, or merely reflected strong turnout. Voting is taking place at polling stations across the vast country's 11 time zones, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine, and online. More than 60% of eligible voters had cast ballots as of early Sunday.
Huge lines also formed around noon outside Russian diplomatic missions in Berlin, London, Milan and other cities with large Russian communities. Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, joined the line at the Russian Embassy in Berlin as some in the crowd applauded and chanted her name.
Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal politician who tried to join the race on an anti-war platform but was barred from running by election officials, voiced hope that many Russians cast their ballots against Putin. "I believe that the Russian people today have a chance to show their real attitude to what is happening by voting not for Putin, but for some other candidates or in some other way, which is exactly what I did," he said after voting in Dolgorpudny, just outside Moscow.
The OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests said that more than 50 people were arrested in 14 cities across Russia on Sunday. Despite tight controls, several dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported. A woman was arrested in St Petersburg after she threw a firebomb at a polling station entrance, and several others were detained across the country for throwing green antiseptic or ink into ballot boxes.
Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy head of the Russian Security Council chaired by Putin, called for toughening the punishment for those who vandalize polling stations, arguing they should face treason charges for attempting to derail the vote amid the fighting in Ukraine.
Some Russian media also posted images of spoiled ballots posted by voters, with "killer and thief" inscribed on one, and "waiting for you in The Hague" written on another, in a reference to an arrest warrant issued for Putin on war crimes charges related to his alleged responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Putin faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties who have refrained from any criticism of his 24-year rule or his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. He has boasted of Russian battlefield successes in the run-up to the vote, but a massive Ukrainian drone attack across Russia early Sunday sent a reminder of challenges faced by Moscow. The shelling of the city of Belgorod near the border killed a 16-year-old girl on Sunday and injured her father, according to the local governor, who also reported two deaths from Ukrainian attacks the previous day.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, including four near the Russian capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties or damage. Putin described the attacks as an attempt by Ukraine to frighten residents and derail Russia's presidential election, saying they "won't be left unpunished."