Vladimir Putin has been in power in Russia for 25 years. For this year’s presidential elections, hundreds of Russians made a pilgrimage to Salzburg on Sunday to cast their votes, including countless critics. They queued for hours for the Kremlin’s election show, but in the end Putin won again.
“Of course I will vote for my president,” said a Russian woman who did not want her name published in the newspaper. By the woman in her sixties we certainly mean Vladimir Putin. Until yesterday, Sunday at 8 p.m., Russians abroad could, just like this woman, cast their votes in the Russian presidential elections.
Hundreds of Russians living in exile made a pilgrimage to Salzburg. The line of people stretched from the Russian consulate on Bürglsteinstrasse over the Karolinenbrücke and past the court. In the afternoon, election workers counted 1,300 people on the sidewalk. Voters waited in line for four hours to exercise their right to vote. Many of them from Germany, because the consulate in Munich remained closed.
The result showed Putin as the winner
The choice in the voting booth was of course limited. Besides long-term ruler Vladimir Putin, only three other candidates were admitted to the elections. They all had to be favorable to the Kremlin and not critical of the war of aggression. But one thing was certain before the end of the elections: the outcome would ensure a certain victory for Putin.
Natalia Korotkova estimated in the afternoon that the Kremlin would soon announce a result of more than 70 percent for Putin. The Russian expat and Putin critic conducts post-election surveys for an organization. “We want to try to reflect the real results of the elections,” says the young woman, who came from Munich. Korotkova keeps a close eye on what happens around the consulate. “There will be those who vote invalidly,” she says. But this will probably never appear in the official Kremlin results. Instead, the election results were presented that evening with the winner Putin glowing.
Peaceful protest for the opposition
The elections were completely peaceful, despite hundreds of people gathering in front of the consulate. Only a protest meeting of supporters of the recently deceased regime critic Alexei Navalny caused a brief commotion on the other side of the street.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
