Hand torn off?
Russian woman sets off firecrackers in polling station – seriously injured
March 17, 2024, 7:02 p.m
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There are elections in Russia and the opposition is protesting. In several places, voters poured paint into ballot boxes, threw Molotov cocktails or otherwise started small fires. In Perm, a woman apparently sets off fireworks – and seriously injures herself.
According to media reports, during the presidential election in Russia, a woman set off fireworks at a polling station and seriously injured herself. The 64-year-old from the city of Perm caused the explosion in the building’s toilet and tore off her own hand, the Telegram channel “Baza” reported. According to media, regional authorities confirmed an emergency at the polling station and said that the woman had been taken to hospital.
Since the first day of voting last Friday, people in Russia have been protesting against the manipulated vote that is intended to secure Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s fifth term in office in the middle of the war. In several locations, voters poured paint into ballot boxes, threw Molotov cocktails or otherwise started small fires. It is not yet known whether the firecracker firing was planned as a protest.
On Sunday, around 12 noon local time, many dissidents gathered in front of their respective polling stations in the huge country with its eleven time zones to express their dissatisfaction under the motto “Lunch against Putin”. In Berlin, too, the queue of voters in front of the Russian embassy grew to over a kilometer. Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in prison, also lined up to cast her vote.
Real opposition members have either not been accepted as candidates in the vote, have fled abroad or are in prison. Independent observers describe the vote, which was due to end in Russia at 7 p.m. CET this evening, as a farce and call on the international community not to recognize the result.