Voting in the Russian presidential election, which is taking place from March 15 to 17, continues in Russia. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that for the first time in the world, remote electronic voting (DEG) is being massively used in elections of this level. It covers Muscovites and residents of another 28 regions of Russia, that is, almost a third of the country.
The overall turnout in the Russian presidential election, including DEG participants, as of 16:20 Moscow time on March 16, was 51.77%. More than 3.4 million voters used the DEG system. On the first day, it froze slightly due to cyberattacks and a large number of voters, but there were no major failures.
Of the presidential candidates, only Vladimir Putin, who ran as an independent, voted via DEG on the first day of the election. Leonid Slutsky, the LDPR presidential candidate, voted at a polling station in one of Moscow's schools. Communist Party candidate Nikolai Kharitonov and Vladislav Davankov from the New People party also plan to vote in the old-fashioned way at polling stations.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin used electronic voting, as did Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
A very convenient form. Even those who have not come to the polling stations for the last twenty years are taking part in the voting. Ultimately, increasing turnout ensures real democracy. When citizens determine their own destiny. I also voted online today.
But the head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, voted offline, at a polling station in the Moscow region. And she explained why she did not choose DEG.
For me, traditional voting is another reason to see my own people, to support my colleagues all over the country, all those who are now fully committed to carrying out this most important and responsible mission. Because we, in our community of election commissions, have wonderful people working!
But, in addition to political figures, offices and polling stations, voters and polling places in Russia are very diverse. "Pervy Tekhnichesky" has compiled a mini-selection of the most amazing of them.
Space elections
Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin, who are currently on the ISS, voted on the first day of the election through a proxy on Earth. They were given this opportunity because the mission in orbit is long, and the cosmonauts will not be able to vote early or in any other way, and the electoral right of a Russian citizen is inviolable. All three cosmonauts entrusted the head of the Korolev city district, Igor Trifonov.
According to Roscosmos, Trifonov contacted the cosmonauts via a special secure channel from the walls of the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia for voting. The voting went smoothly without any technical glitches.
Cosmonauts on Earth who are preparing to be sent from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft were also not left without the right to choose.
In Kazakhstan, Oleg Novitsky and Ivan Wagner voted together with their accompanying members of the operational group involved in preparing for the upcoming expedition.
Elections at the edge of the world
Residents of remote areas of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug were able to exercise their constitutional right in the Russian presidential election only with the help of helicopters.
One of the Mi-8MTV-1s of the Naryan-Mar aviation squadron turned into an airborne polling station in compliance with all the rules: registration of participants, issuance of ballots, booths, a portable ballot box and observers.
In this region, 6,884 people voted early, which is 16.7% of the number of voters in the region. The crews made 17 flights to reindeer herding camps and deposits.
A fairy tale comes to life
Animals, fairy tale and cartoon characters, and mascots of sports teams were spotted at polling stations throughout Russia these two days. Even Ded Moroz made his way out of his residence in Veliky Ustyug on the first day of voting.
The centuries-old character expectedly chose a paper ballot. As did his relative, the Kazakh Ded Moroz Kadyr-ata, who voted in the Novosibirsk region at one of the polling stations on the second day of the election.
Insects in politics
But the most unique voters in a unique place turned out to be in the Omsk region. Micro-miniature artist Anatoly Konenko created an installation of insect voters with a glass ballot box with the coat of arms of Russia and ballots.
A grasshopper and mosquitoes, in particular, arrived to vote in the presidential election at the will of the Omsk creator. At the same time, as Konenko showed and explained to journalists, the grasshopper quickly lowered a ballot measuring only five millimeters into a glass ballot box, but the mosquitoes were thinking about the choice.