CNN —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.
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.
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.
Persons:
Vladimir, Putin, Alena Bulgakova, Bulgakova, Putin’s, Molotov, Ella Pamfilova, ”, Alexey Navalny, Evgeny Feldman, Navalny, “, Navalny’s, Yulia Navalnaya
Organizations:
CNN, Novosti, Kremlin, Russian Civic Chamber
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Rostov, Karachay, St . Petersburg, Moskovsky