With irregularities and riots, the first day of elections in Russia ended

On Friday, the presidential elections began Russia This will last for three days and will almost certainly produce a winner Russian President Vladimir PutinThanks to its enormous machinery to persecute dissent and scam. Therefore, as expected, the first day did not pass peacefully: incidents and violations were recorded in cities across the country showing the extent of the people’s dissatisfaction with this event.

The Kremlin reports that they have already done so 13 Persons detained for Sabotage In electoral centers. The first was a woman in Moscow Set fire to a jar It filled the space with smoke, delaying the turn of other voters. “Police officers quickly stopped this illegal act so no one was injured,” authorities stated.

For the same reason, another person was arrested in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk, while in St. Petersburg a woman in her twenties tried to throw a piece of cloth. Molotov cocktail Against another polling station and something similar happened in the Chelyabinsk region with a man and a firecracker.

Others joined these Nine Russians What they threw ink In the ballot boxes, which led to the disruption of the ballot papers inside them. A video clip of a woman pouring green liquid into a bin in Moscow went viral within hours, encouraging others to follow in her footsteps, but this was not without consequences.

This was stated by the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Russia, Ella Pamfilova “All (these people) have been arrested.” He warned “Others who dare to try will also be arrested.”. “This is no ordinary bigotry however Actions involving elements of terrorism“he added.

All of these persons are accused of violating Article 141 of the Penal Code, which refers to the penalties applied for obstructing the exercise of the right to vote, for which they could be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of between Three and five years in prison.

But the opposition was not the only one that attracted attention on the first day; Putin's followers and his team did the same in an attempt to ensure that he received a new term in the Kremlin.

a lot State employees and members of the armed forces They showed up at the exact same time, claiming it was just a coincidence and trying to cover it up The orders were issued to them to show strong support for the president On this first day.

Likewise, at a certain point, the authorities confirmed this Participation in electronic voting was so high that the system collapsed. This only raised doubts among the opposition, which did not originally trust this method because of the difficulties represented by monitoring it.

At the same time, raffles were held among residents of various Russian cities to stimulate participation and ensure more votes for Putin. In Siberia, for example, a cleaning worker won an apartment while a police officer won a car. Also in the Chelyabinsk region, the local hospital promised free tests in exchange for ballots, and other polling stations rewarded attendees with donuts.

Finally, a group of Russians made fun of the event and appeared with them Special costumes Of rabbits and beavers.

To all this must be added the invitation of the deceased opponent Alexei Navalny to “Noon with Putin”Which seeks to concentrate the largest number of opposition members in electoral districts across the country with the aim of attracting the attention of the international community and making clear that the election result – which gives Putin the winner – is not more important. As a result of fraud.

(With information from AFP, EFE and Europa Press)