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‘Noon against Putin’ protests as Russian leader set to extend rule in polls

Thousands of Putin’s opponents stage a symbolic noon protest at polling stations on the last day of the election.

People stand in a line to enter a polling station around noon on the final day of the presidential election in Moscow, Russia, March 17
People stand in a line to enter a polling station around noon on the final day of the presidential election in Moscow, Russia. [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
Published On 17 Mar 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to tighten his grip on power in an election that is certain to deliver him a landslide victory, though thousands of opponents have staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations.

Supporters of Putin’s fiercest political foe Alexey Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, had called on Russians to come out for a “Noon against Putin” protest to show their dissent against a leader they cast as a corrupt autocrat.

Navalny’s associates, including his widow Yulia Navalnaya, have urged those unhappy with Putin, 71, or the ongoing war with Ukraine to protest by coming to the polls at noon on Sunday, a strategy endorsed by Navalny shortly before his death.

Team Navalny described it as a success, releasing pictures and videos of people crowding near polling stations in cities across Russia around noon.

At a polling station in southwest Moscow, Leonid, an 18-year-old student, said there were “not that many people” taking part in the protest but he was “just happy that some people came”.

The polling station was in a school where Navalny scored his highest result – 70 percent – in his failed bid to become Moscow mayor in 2013. He later attempted to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election but his candidacy was rejected.

After casting his ballot at a polling station where Navalny used to vote, IT worker Alexander said he came because this was one of the few ways he could protest.

“If I hadn’t done this, I would have felt like a coward,” the 29-year-old said.

Elena, 52, said people were “too afraid” to come out in large numbers. “I don’t want Russia, my homeland, to be like this … I love my country; I want it to be free.”

Putin, who rose to power in 1999, is set to win a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.

While Putin’s re-election is not in doubt given his control over Russia and the absence of any real challengers, the former KGB spy wants to show that he has the overwhelming support of Russians.

Several hours before polls were due to close at 18:00 GMT, the nationwide turnout surpassed 2018 levels of 67.5 percent.

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a prison camp, stands in a queue outside the Russian Embassy on the final day of the presidential election in Russia, in Berlin, Germany, March 17
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a prison camp in February 2024, stands in a queue outside the Russian Embassy on the final day of the presidential election in Russia, in Berlin, Germany. [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]
Voters queue at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, March 17
Voters queue at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]
A police officer checks voters queuing at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, March 17
A police officer checks voters queuing at a polling station. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]
People undergoe security control as they arrive to vote in Russia's presidential election at a polling station in Moscow on March 17
Russian opposition has called on people to head to the polls on Sunday at noon in large numbers to overwhelm polling stations in a protest that they hope will be a legal show of strength against Putin. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
A woman casts her ballot during Russia's presidential election at a polling station in Moscow on March 17, 2024. - Russian opposition has called on people to head to the polls on March 17
A woman casts her ballot during Russia's presidential election at a polling station in Moscow. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
People queue outside a polling station during Russia's presidential election in Saint Petersburg on March 17
People queue outside a polling station during Russia's presidential election in Saint Petersburg. [Olga Maltseva/AFP]
Voters queue at a polling station in St. Petersburg, Russia, at noon local time on Sunday, March 17
Voters queue at a polling station in Saint Petersburg. Russians at home and abroad are heading to the polls for a presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule after he clamped down on dissent. [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo]
People stand in line outside a polling station during a presidential election at the Russian embassy in Vilnius
People stand in line outside a polling station during a presidential election at the Russian embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania. [Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo]
A Russian woman and a child residing in India react after casting a ballot during Russia's presidential election at a polling station set up at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Chennai on March 17
A Russian woman and a child residing in India react after casting a ballot during Russia's presidential election at a polling station set up at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Chennai, India [R Satish Babu/AFP]
Members of the Russian diaspora in Georgia hold a banner reading as 'Enough Putin, lies, war, repressions' during a protest on the day of Russia's presidential election, in Tbilisi on March 17
Members of the Russian diaspora in Georgia hold a banner reading 'Enough Putin, lies, war, repressions' during a protest on the day of Russia's presidential election, in Tbilisi, Georgia. [Vano Shlamov/AFP]
A woman holds a placard with a photo of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny outside the Russian Consulate, on the final day of the presidential election in Russia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Milan
A woman holds a placard with a photo of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny outside the Russian Consulate, on the final day of the presidential election in Russia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Milan. [Claudia Greco/Reuters]