Queues formed outside Moscow polling stations on Sunday as some voters heeded a call by supporters of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny to cast protest votes in Russia’s presidential election.
AFP reporters at two polling stations saw larger numbers of voters at noon (0900 GMT) compared to earlier in the day following the call for a “Midday Against Putin” protest.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent rival, died in mysterious circumstances in an Arctic prison last month.
His widow Yulia Navalnaya had called on people to go to polling stations at the same time and spoil their ballots as a protest.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale offensive in Ukraine in 2022, public dissent in Russia has been stifled and government critics have been jailed or forced to flee.
After casting his ballot at a polling station where Navalny used to vote, IT worker Alexander said…
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