‘Noon against Putin’ protests as Russian leader set to extend rule in polls
Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to tighten his grip on power in an election that is certain to deliver him a landslide victory, though thousands of opponents have staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations.
With polling stations now closed, and about a quarter of the ballots counted, the first results show he’s taken 88% of the vote – in an election that was seen as a foregone conclusion.
Supporters of Putin’s fiercest political foe Alexey Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, had called on Russians to come out for a “Noon against Putin” protest to show their dissent against a leader they cast as a corrupt autocrat.
Al Jazeera’s Dmitry Medvedenko reports.
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