Several Russians pour dye into ballot boxes in protest against presidential election

A woman pours liquid into a ballot box during the Russian presidential election in Moscow, Russia, March 15. (Reuters via CNN Newsource)

Several Russians poured dye into ballot boxes in protest as the three-day presidential vote got underway, near certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s long grip on power Dissent has effectively been outlawed in Russia since it launched its invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

But videos released Friday from several polling stations across Russia showed protesters pouring what authorities described as dye into ballot boxes to spoil the votes cast.

CCTV video from a polling station in Moscow showed a young woman pouring what appeared to be green dye into a ballot box. She was immediately detained and faces criminal charges for obstructing the election, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.

Polls opened Friday across Russia’s 11 time zones. With most opposition candidates either dead, jailed, exiled, barred from running or simply token figures, Putin is expected to coast to victory, extending his rule until at least 2030.

While the result of the election is not in doubt, it is important to the Kremlin that the ritual runs smoothly with scant displays of dissent.

But voters have staged similar protests in the Voronezh, Rostov and Karachay-Cherkessia regions, according to Alena Bulgakova, chair of the Russian Civic Chamber.

Bulgakova alleged that the simultaneity of the incidents was evidence of a “deliberate organized provocation.”

Elsewhere in Moscow on Friday, a woman was arrested after setting fire to a voting booth at a polling station. Officials told RIA that the ballots were not damaged and voting has continued.

In St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, a woman threw a Molotov cocktail at the signboard of a polling station in the Moskovsky district, RIA reported. The fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries, officials said.

Ella Pamfilova, chair of Russia’s Central Election Committee, called the protesters “scum” and claimed without evidence that several of those who poured liquid into ballot boxes were paid to do so.

The Russian government often alleges that acts of political dissent are paid-for “provocations” rather than genuine acts of protest.

Green dye has been used in attacks on Russian journalists and opposition figures, most notably on the late Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, Putin’s most formidable opponent.

Alexey Navalny was attacked with green ink after leading large anti-government protests in 2017. (Evgeny Feldman / AP via CNN Newsource)

After staging huge anti-government protests in 2017, Navalny was splashed with antiseptic green dye in an attack that damaged his vision in his left eye.

Navalny died in an Arctic prison a month ago. Russia’s prison service said he “felt unwell after a walk” and lost consciousness, later attributing his death to natural causes. The Kremlin denied any involvement in his death.

Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has called on Russians to protest the “fake” presidential election and turn out collectively on the final day of voting on Sunday at noon as a show of opposition.