Putin’s total eradication of meaningful opposition has seen the presidential election widely decried as little more than political pantomime (Picture: Reuters)
Thousands of people have queued up in London to cast their votes in Russia’s presidential election, with many protesting the run-off as a sham.
A long line of expats was seen gathered outside the Russian embassy in the capital earlier today, with the queue stretching an estimated half a mile down Lancaster Gate.
Many of those waiting to cast their votes held up placards in support of Ukraine and criticising incumbent Russian president Vladimir Putin, who is all but certain to be announced winner once the numbers are in.
And Metro.co.uk has seen pictures of some of the spoiled ballots submitted today, which feature doodles of phalluses among other things.
Putin has worked hard to eradicate any semblance of meaningful opposition in Russia since launching his invasion of Ukraine two years ago – perhaps most notably with the death in prison last month of anti-corruption investigator, journalist and politician Alexei Navalny.
More recently, the Kremlin made a decision to bar at least two other candidates who had opposed war in Ukraine from appearing on the ballot.
Protesters showed out in force outside the Russian embassy in London this afternoon (Picture: Reuters)
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Other opponents currently languishing in jail include politician Ilya Yashin and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, while Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny’s key allies, was recently assaulted with a hammer in Latvia, where he is currently living.
Across Russia, voters turned out en masse at noon today, following calls from Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya to overload voting stations and spoil ballot papers as an act of protest against what has been widely decried as a rigged sham election.
Many have crossed out other candidates’ names to replace them with that of Navalny, while others have included pro-Ukrainian and anti-war slogans.
Others still have taken their acts of protest further, with video footage circulating online of various incidents of vandalism at polling booths and even minor acts of arson.
At the encouragement of Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s widow, many Russians have spoilt their ballot papers for the present election
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A popular refrain among Russians at anti-Putin protests has long been ‘Putin – khuilo!’, or ‘Putin [is a] d**khead!’
When Navalny’s coffin was lowered into the ground, the music played was from his favourite film: Terminator 2
One woman is reported to have thrown a molotov cocktail at a polling booth in Volgograd, southwest Russia (Picture: Reuters)
Putin’s government introduced constitutional changes in 2020 that made the current president eligible to seek two further six-year terms, opening the way for him to remain in power until 2036. He is presently 71 years old.
Should he remain in power until that time, however, he will surpass Joseph Stalin as the country’s longest ruling leader since the fall of the Russian Empire in 1919.
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Russia’s elections come against a backdrop of gradually intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks from inside Russian territory.
At least 35 drone strikes were launched on Sunday alone, targeting such critical infrastructure as oil refineries, airports and electricity hubs.
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