Insights from Moscow: Russian Presidential Election at Moscow Voting Location

On Friday, TFD News spent the day at a voting location in the capital of Russia. Since the outcome is certain, the Kremlin will instead be observing voter participation as an indicator of the general public’s acceptance of President Vladimir Putin’s expanded authority throughout this huge nation.

TFD – Dive into the dynamics of the Russian presidential election at a Moscow voting location. Explore voter sentiments, Kremlin’s monitoring, and the impact on President Putin’s authority. Stay updated with key insights into Russian politics.

Russia’s MOSCOW On this crisp and beautiful Friday, a constant stream of voters showed up early to cast their ballots in a three-day presidential election at a polling place in the center of the Russian capital.

Since the outcome is certain, the Kremlin will instead be observing voter participation as an indicator of the general public’s acceptance of Vladimir Putin’s expanded authority throughout this huge nation.

The doors to this school that has been transformed into a polling location opened at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET), and Muscovites poured in. A big banner bearing the dates of this Friday-Sunday election and the letter “V” in the colors of the Russian flag was displayed at the entrance.

Authorities have used the Latin letters “V” and “Z” as unofficial symbols for its war in Ukraine, which has entered its third year with the country’s military advancing on the battlefield.

Since the Kremlin now controls a larger portion of Russian life, there is no real opposition to Putin; the three other individuals on the ballot are representatives of Putin-aligned groups that hardly participated in the campaign.

Nevertheless, a few voters claimed they didn’t require a substitute.

As she left the station, 90-year-old Nina Kisileva told NBC News that she had cast her ballot early in favor of another six years under Putin. Since I have faith in him. Kisileva remarked, “I really trust him,” adding that she had experienced several Soviet leaders, including Josef Stalin. “I vividly recall Stalin’s 1953 burial, which took place shortly after his death. And I only trust Putin now,” the woman remarked.

Svetlana Kulikova reported that she used the electronic voting system at the station for the first time this year.

She added that, like Kisileva, she voted for Putin. Kulikova, 59, remarked, “We live well, we are satisfied with everything, and, well, we are very satisfied with our president.”

Denis Babushkin, a highway construction worker, voted for Putin because he believed that he was the only “adequate” candidate among the four. The 39-year-old Babushkin claimed, “He is the only one who has recently made others respect Russia as a country.” Despite his dissatisfaction with all that was happening in the nation, he claimed that overall, good things were still outweighing bad things.

Since the start of the war, it has been practically hard to gauge public sentiment because so many individuals are afraid to voice their opinions for fear of being punished for doing so. Putin, however, continues to have a high approval rating of 86%, according to the independent pollster Levada Center.

Additionally, NBC News witnessed fifteen municipal employees enter the building in unison to cast their votes and depart as a group. In the past, Russian authorities have been accused of forcing state employees to vote.

This time, there isn’t much suspense because two candidates who oppose war have been disqualified from competing and there isn’t much independent oversight of the voting process.

However, a large turnout would be interpreted as approving the war and strengthening the belief that the nation is unified behind its president, who is already the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Stalin. 67% of eligible voters cast ballots in 2018, and the Kremlin will be hoping to claim that figure has been surpassed on Monday.

In a special video address on election eve, Putin, 71, urged Russians to vote and show togetherness by appealing to instincts of duty and patriotism.

Videos of celebrities performing inside polling places and a cardboard cutout of Tucker Carlson, the conservative commentator who recently interviewed Putin and has grown to be a beloved American figure in Russia, were among the many ways the Kremlin tried to boost voter turnout on Friday.

However, Russian official media also covered several disruptive actions, such as many instances of persons covering or pouring colored dye over ballot boxes, and other incidents involving the use of Molotov cocktails to set polling places on fire.

Opinions on how Russians should approach the election have been divided among the opposition, which was nearly destroyed by a crackdown and the passing of its leader, Alexei Navalny. Some have advised people to vote for any candidate other than Putin or to spoil their ballots; still others have advocated for a boycott.

The most likely protest will probably revolve around a call for Russians to silently express their dissatisfaction by gathering in large numbers at polling places across all 11 of the nation’s time zones on Sunday at noon.

Some voters at the Moscow polling station told NBC News they knew about the call for this protest.

Elena, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that although she was aware that it was happening on Sunday, she could still cast a ballot today.

Elena, 24, an economist who declined to disclose her vote, said, “I think that in order to have your own opinion and have an attitude toward something, one doesn’t necessarily need to come at noon on Sunday.” “Otherwise, you will come on your own feet, but might not leave on your own.”

That was probably a hint to the government crackdown, which has made many Russians afraid to divulge their last names to international media and afraid of being arrested.

The two most concerning developments for the Kremlin this week have been the increase in Ukrainian drone assaults throughout a significant portion of Russia and the apparent continuation of land incursion efforts in the border districts of Kursk and Belgorod following several days of combat.

In addition to advising voters to cast their ballots on Friday, the governors of the respective areas issued alerts regarding missile threats and advised voters to vote electronically if required due to the possible risks associated with leaving their homes.

Putin promised retaliation for what he described as a “criminal” Ukrainian attempt “to disrupt the voting process and intimidate the people” during an address to his security council on election day.

Since voting electronically is being used for the first time in a presidential election, worries regarding fraud and falsification—problems that have historically dogged Russian elections—are raised. According to Russian news agency Tass, 1.6 million voters cast electronic ballots on Friday morning, according to Russia’s ministry of digital development.

Communist party observer Konstantin Shavlak noted that although they could keep an eye out for any possible irregularities with paper ballots, the electronic vote was a bit of a mystery over which they had no control. “This is our issue,” 44-year-old Shavlak stated. “We always urge people to cast their ballots on paper, the traditional method. That is the most trustworthy and sincere method.

Nearly 2 million Russians living abroad are among the more than 114 million eligible voters in this election. For the first time, in defiance of international law and in a move denounced by Kyiv and its Western allies, residents of the four occupied areas of Ukraine that Russia has seized will also be included.

It is anticipated that results will begin to come in late Sunday, and that Putin will be declared the winner with overwhelming margins on Monday.

From Moscow, Keir Simmons and Natasha Lebedeva provided reporting. From London, Yuliya Talmazan filed a report.