Elections in Russia: Digital Queues and Controversial Tactics
Cameras in polling stations in the Altai territory in Russia are not working. In Chukotka, voters are treated to pancakes. In Zabaikalsky Krai, employees are brought to polling stations during work hours, and in Belgorod, a location was evacuated due to a raid. This is how Russians are choosing their "Tsar".
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The interest in the presidential elections in Russia is so huge that to vote electronically, you have to wait in line - at least that's what the Kremlin propaganda claims.
- The digital systems of the capital are dealing with an unprecedented load. The electronic queue is a planned, normal algorithm, says Artem Kostyrko, the head of the department for territorial management improvement and smart projects development of the Moscow government. Approximately half a million Russians have already voted this way.
In the polling stations, among others, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared in the company of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. Voting is also taking place in the occupied regions of Ukraine, which constitutes a violation of the Geneva Convention.
Independent Russian media also report the first cases of election-related violations. For example, in Voronezh ballots were dropped into boxes before the location was opened.
"Our observer demanded their removal. The committee agreed," writes the channel Dissident.
RIA Novosti proudly announces that voters from the Moscow region, who participate in the elections for the first time, "will receive chocolate bars with campaign symbols as a gift".
In Khanty-Mansiysk, near polling station No. 288, the police detained Polina Zmanovskaya, who was conducting an exit poll outside the polling station.
In the Altai territory, all cameras that operated in polling stations were turned off.
And in Kamchatka 76 percent of all eligible voters have already voted.
In Belgorod an evacuation of the location was necessary due to a missile attack.
In Vankarem on Chukotka voters are treated to pancakes.
From the glue in the village of Taptugary in Zabaikalsky Krai, employees of one of the local enterprises were brought to the polling station during work hours.
One of the independent observers in Voronezh complained that a portrait of Putin was visible in the polling station. After the protest, commission members covered it with a sheet.
Russians will choose a president for the first time in history for three days. Voting will conclude on Sunday.
