March 21, 2024

To Vote or Not to Vote?


To Vote or Not to Vote?
A voter in the last Russian presidential election, 2018.  Alexandr Podgorchuk/Klops.ru., Wikimedia Commons. 

The Kremlin pushed hard to increase voter turnout in last weekend's presidential elections, but options for citizens who opposed the current administration were limited. Verstka compiled a list of some modes of participation and protest. 

There were three candidates on the ballot alongside the incumbent president, Vladimir Putin, none of whom were critics of him or his presidency. They included the deputy of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Kharitonov; the chairman of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Leonid Slutsky; and a member of the New People (Novie lyudi) Party, Vladislav Davankov.

Of these, Davankov was the only one who has not spoken in support of the war on Ukraine, which garnered him a fair amount of support. Earlier in March, Davankov polled at 7.4% among prospective voters, a distant second place to Putin's 81.8% support. The fact that Davankov did not openly speak in support of the war does not mean he is meaningfully opposed to it, especially since he has supported several pro-war bills in the Duma. 

Another way voters expressed protest at the polls was to invalidate ballots. A ballot without any candidate chosen will be thrown out, as will a ballot with more than one candidate selected. The number of invalid ballots is counted separately in the final election results, and the percentage can be compared to "uncommitted" votes cast in protest in US Democratic primary voting. 

The "Noon Against Putin" movement called for a more public display of protest: Organizers encouraged voters to arrive at the polls at noon on Sunday, March 17, en masse, to overwhelm polling locations. Protesters filled out their ballots for any candidate besides President Putin, or else wrote in names, such as "Alexei Navalny." 

The final option was to simply boycott the election, out of either dissent or apathy. 

As of late Sunday evening, Putin had been reported as the winner of the presidential race, with 88% of the vote.

 

You Might Also Like

What Russians Want
  • February 05, 2024

What Russians Want

Independent sociologists have sussed out what Russians really want from their government.
New Face at Russia's Helm
  • January 03, 2000

New Face at Russia's Helm

This article was written in early January, 2000, about Russia's new acting president and a man not well know outside Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955