Polling stations in Russia open for three days today. But people in the country are hardly interested in it. That’s why the authorities are putting pressure on them – and are now threatening those who wanted to stand in line to protest.
A few days ago, the Russian news agency Tass distributed a video that tells a lot about the nature of this election, which is not an election at all. In the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, which has been occupied by Russian troops since May 2022, an employee of the Russian Election Commission visits 98-year-old pensioner Yevdokiya Vikhrovaya in her apartment. The old woman should hand in her ballot paper. An armed and masked soldier watches as Vikhrovaya puts her cross for Vladimir Putin. “A good man!” explains Vikhrovaya. Then she throws the note into a transparent box. “With all my heart,” affirms the old lady.