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Vladimir Putin’s landslide victory is certain. But at a polling station in Moscow it becomes clear that there are many critical voices.
The last polling stations in Russia closed at 6 p.m. CET. This ends the three-day presidential election. There are no definitive results yet, but it is already clear who will emerge as the clear winner: Vladimir Putin.
The elections were neither free nor fair. Critics are ignored in Russia, and Putin’s opponents are also loyal to the Kremlin. Nevertheless, the opposition to the war and the regime wanted to make itself felt again.
Visiting polling station 54
On Komsomoskaya Square in Moscow there are three train stations and the Railwaymen’s House of Culture. Polling station number 54 is located in the marble-clad interior of the cultural center.
At 11 a.m. the ballot boxes, voting machines, poll workers and some heavily armed police officers are ready. The only thing missing is the electorate. Apart from a few elderly people, no one visits the cultural center.
Older people tend to be among Putin’s voters. But you don’t feel any enthusiasm for what’s going on so far. There is no real selection of candidates, says 77-year-old Lew. He voted for the communist. Lew wants peace and friendship with all peoples.
Impressions from polling station 54 in Moscow
Vera, 75, voted for Putin. “Our president is the most capable candidate,” she says. When asked what she hoped for from his next term in office, she said: “I want peace.”
Many people in Russia believe Putin will achieve a quick victory against Ukraine. But by no means everyone is convinced that the goals of the so-called special operation must be achieved at all costs.
The head of the polling station is Afanasy Rostchin. Without being asked, he assures us that everything is going well here. “Even if the president came here and told me how to do my job, I wouldn’t listen to him,” he says. His only boss is the law.
Hope for a different future
At midday the polling station suddenly becomes busy and a lot of young people show up. The opposition had called for people to vote at midday as a sign of protest if they were against Putin. There is a queue in front of the cultural center. “It’s encouraging to see all these people,” says Maxim. If you only communicate with like-minded people online, you will become lonely. He added that he chose Jean-Paul Sartre.
We would like to live differently.
Igor and Anja didn’t actually come to vote. “It’s more about showing our attitude,” says Igor. “And that’s the only way we can do it.” At the polling station they wanted to get them to vote electronically, they say, but this is more susceptible to forgery. When she filled out her form, a police officer looked over her shoulder, says Anja.
Mikhail drove with his little daughter from the city of Kostroma, about a five-hour drive from Moscow, to experience the action. “I want to show her that, despite everything, there are still people who think differently in Russia,” he says, visibly upset. Why did he support the protest? “We would like to live differently,” says Mikhail.
Legend:
The ballot boxes are made of transparent plastic.
Keystone / EPA, MAXIM SHIPENKOV