Thousands of Russians living abroad made a pilgrimage to the polls on Sunday to vote in the presidential election – and to voice their protest against Vladimir Putin.
Switzerland
On Sunday, the last day of Russia’s presidential elections, government critics took part in a protest against Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
Nearly 400 people stood in line outside the Russian Consulate General on Sunday afternoon.
Most of the people present around noon followed the call from the widow of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny to go to the polls at the same time around noon. In the ‘Lunch against Putin’ campaign, voters must vote for every candidate except Putin.
Germany
Navalny took part in the protest in Berlin, accompanied by Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch.
According to police, about 800 people took part in the demonstration.
The demonstrators shouted: “Victory for Ukraine! Freedom for Russia!”, “Navalny is a hero of Russia” and “Putin is illegitimate”.
You could also see flags in the colors white-blue-white, which according to the participants should be the new colors of a free Russia.
The Netherlands
A line also formed outside the Russian embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. The voters did not have much choice: Putin had allowed three competitors who were considered hopeless from the start.
The memory of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, who died in custody, is still fresh. Many people laid flowers in his memory.
A man holds a poster that reads: “Burn bright, burn bright, the fire that cannot be extinguished.”
Italy
Dozens of people waited in Milan to vote. Nearly 76 million Russians voted for Putin, according to Russia’s Central Election Commission.
This woman was definitely not one of them.
Czech Republic
This woman in Prague also spoke out against a new presidential term with the ‘No to Putin’s terror’ poster. Putin has been in power for almost 25 years and can now hold office for another six years.
Many young people gathered in front of the Russian embassy to vote. Voter turnout at the elections was the highest ever at 77.44 percent.
Poland
Despite the rainy weather, people in Warsaw voted. According to election director Ella Pamfilova, the high turnout is a response by Russian citizens to the perceived pressure exerted on the country from outside.
“No war, no Putin,” says this woman’s poster.
Finland
The people in front of the embassy in Helsinki were wrapped even warmer. They all voted voluntarily. According to reports from independent observers, state institutions and companies in Russia in particular have exerted enormous pressure on employees to vote.
Abroad, people have more confidence in the rebellion against Putin. This poster says: “Russia without Putin”
Latvia
In the Latvian capital Riga, people waited to vote. Returning officer Pamfilova denies that the elections were unfree and unfair. She describes the accusations of unfree and unfair elections as ‘primitive cave thinking’.
She goes on to say that these prejudices are fueled solely by the West, which foresaw Putin’s victory but disagreed with the outcome. Putin will not have gotten his vote:
Serbia
In Serbia, people stood in line in the sun. The returning officer is convinced “that our country is free, with free will and a highly educated people who will not tolerate pressure from within or without.”
At least this woman seemed to have voted for Putin:
saw with material from the SDA and DPA news agencies