Thousands Join Noon Protest as Putin Tightens Grip on Power in Russian Election

MOSCOW—President Vladimir Putin is on the verge of further solidifying his power on Sunday in a Russian election that is guaranteed to result in a landslide victory for him, despite thousands of opponents staging a symbolic noon protest at polling stations.

Mr. Putin, who came to power in 1999, is expected to secure a new six-year term, making him Russia’s longest-serving leader in over two centuries.

The election comes just over two years after Mr. Putin initiated the deadliest European conflict since World War Two by ordering the invasion of Ukraine, which he portrays as a “special military operation.”

Conflict has cast a shadow over the three-day election: Ukraine has launched multiple attacks on oil refineries in Russia, bombarded Russian territories, and attempted to breach Russian borders with proxy forces—a move that Mr. Putin stated would not go unpunished.

Although Mr. Putin’s re-election is assured due to his dominance in Russia and the absence of any significant challengers, the former KGB spy aims to demonstrate overwhelming support from the Russian people. Hours before polls were set to close at 1800 GMT, the nationwide turnout had exceeded the levels of 2018 at 67.5 percent.

Supporters of Alexei Navalny, who passed away in an Arctic prison last month, urged Russians to participate in a “Noon against Putin” protest to express their dissent against a leader they view as a corrupt autocrat.

An independent count of the number of Russia’s 114 million voters participating in the opposition protests was not available, due to the extremely tight security involving tens of thousands of police and security personnel.

Reporters from Reuters observed an increase in voter turnout, especially among younger individuals, at noon at certain polling stations in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg, with queues of several hundred and even thousands of people.

Some claimed to be participating in protests, although there were few outward indications to differentiate them from regular voters.

When Mr. Navalny’s widow, Yulia, visited the Russian embassy in Berlin where Russian citizens were voting, some in the crowd cheered for her and chanted “Yulia, Yulia.”

Exiled Navalny supporters broadcasted videos of protests inside Russia and abroad on YouTube.

“We demonstrated to ourselves, all of Russia, and the world that Putin is not Russia; that Putin has seized power in Russia,” stated Ruslan Shaveddinov of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. “Our triumph is that we, the people, conquered fear, we conquered isolation—many realized they were not alone.”

Leonid Volkov, an exiled Navalny aide who was recently attacked with a hammer in Vilnius, estimated that hundreds of thousands of people had turned out to polling stations in Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and other cities.

Scattered Incidents

At polling stations in Russian diplomatic missions from Australia and Japan to Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Georgia, hundreds of Russians waited in line at noon.

Over the past two days, there were isolated incidents of protest as some Russians set fire to voting booths or poured dye into ballot boxes. Russian officials referred to them as scoundrels and traitors. Opponents shared images of ballots defaced with slogans insulting Mr. Putin.

However, the opposition has been left without its most formidable leader following Mr. Navalny’s demise, and other prominent opposition figures are either abroad, in custody, or deceased.

The West portrays Mr. Putin as an autocrat and a murderer. The International Criminal Court in the Hague has accused him of the alleged war crime of kidnapping Ukrainian children, a claim that the Kremlin denies.

Mr. Putin portrays the conflict as part of a centuries-old struggle with a declining and decadent West, which he asserts humiliated Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 by encroaching on what he views as Russia’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.

Russia’s election occurs at a critical juncture for the Ukraine war and the broader West, as U.S. President Joe Biden characterizes it as a larger 21st-century battle between democracies and autocracies.

Support for Ukraine is entangled in U.S. domestic politics ahead of the upcoming presidential election in November between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, whose Republican party in Congress has blocked military assistance for Kyiv.

Although Kyiv reclaimed territory following the invasion in 2022, Russian forces have recently made advancements after a failed Ukrainian counter-offensive last year.

The Biden administration worries that Mr. Putin may seize a more significant portion of Ukraine unless Kyiv receives additional support soon. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns has warned that this could embolden Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Mr. Putin alleges that the West is waging a hybrid war against Russia and that Western intelligence agencies and Ukraine are attempting to disrupt the elections.

Voting is also taking place in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and what Moscow refers to as its “new territories,” four other regions it partly controls and has laid claim to since 2022. Kyiv regards the election occurring in parts of its territory controlled by Russia as illicit and invalid.

By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn