Russian dissident urges anti-Putin protest

HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Exiled Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin has called “anti-war Russians” worldwide to vote against President Vladimir Putin’s ruling party in legislative elections this month.

The protest, dubbed “noon for peace,” is asking Russians who oppose the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine to go to polling stations at noon on 20 September to vote against the ruling “United Russia,” Yashin told Agence France-Presse in Helsinki, where he met exiled supporters this month.

“If people come to vote against United Russia at the same time and line up in queues, then everyone will see just how many of us there really are,” he said.

The results of the ballot are not in doubt.

Russia tightly controls elections, which rights groups have in the past said are marred by fraud, coercion and the banning of genuine opposition.

Putin’s targeting of rivals has only intensified amid the Ukraine war, with all of his critics exiled, in jail or dead.

Last month, Russia’s Supreme Court blocked the only anti-war party, Yabloko, from standing in the September vote.Exiled Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin urges anti-war Russians to join a “noon for peace” protest by voting against Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party.