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Putin's opponents stage protest on final election day

STORY: Russians went to the polls on Sunday (March 17) for the final day of the country's presidential election. President Vladimir Putin, who rose to power in 1999, is poised to win a new six-year term. If he completes it would make him Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years. Opponents called on people to stage a symbolic protest against his rule at polling stations. Supporters of Alexei Navalny, who died in unexplained circumstances at an Arctic prison last month, have called on Russians to come out at a "Noon against Putin" protest to show their dissent against the leader.They went to their local polling station at midday to either spoil their ballot paper or to vote for one of the three candidates standing against Putin.Others had vowed to scrawl the name of Navalny on their ballot paper.Reuters journalists saw a slight increase in the flow of voters, especially younger people, at noon at some polling stations in Moscow and Yekaterinburg. It was not immediately clear whether they are protesting or just voting.Leonid Volkov, an exiled Navalny aide who was attacked with a hammer last week in Vilnius, estimated hundreds of thousands of people had come out to polling stations across the country. Reuters could not independently verify that estimate.Navalny's widow, Yulia, was seen queuing to vote in Berlin in an apparent "noon against Putin" protest. Supporters cheered and clapped for her. Over the previous two days, there were scattered incidents of protest as some Russians set fire to voting booths and poured dye into ballot boxes. Russian officials said they were "scumbags" and "traitors."The Ukraine war, which Putin casts as a defensive "special military operation," hangs over the three days of voting. Ukraine over the recent days repeatedly attacked oil refineries in Russia with drones and shelled Russian regions. In Belgorod, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, the regional governor there said a Ukrainian shell set a house on fire. The city's mayor published a video of the aftermath. The Kremlin has sought a high turnout for the election. Putin wants to show that he has the overwhelming support of Russians. Several hours before polls closed, officials said the nationwide turnout surpassed 2018 levels of 67.5%.Putin has warned the West that any meddling in the vote will be considered an act of aggression.