Yulia Navalnaïa, the widow of Alexï Navalny, former main opponent à Vladimir Putin, presented himself on Sunday in front of the Russian embassy in Paris. Berlin to vote on the last day of the presidential election in his country, noted the AFP. Before the vote, she called on her supporters to go to the polls at the same time, at noon on Sunday (09:00 GMT), and give their vote to any candidate other than Vladimir Putin. Yulia Navalnaïa, who promised despite her exile to take up the torch from her late husband, placed herself in the queue in front of the embassy, agreeing with a smile to take “selfies” with sympathizers.< /p> Yulia Navalnaïa, the widow of Alexeï Navalny, former main opponent of Vladimir Putin, in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin to vote on the last day of the presidential election in her country, March 17, 2024 © AFP – Tobias SCHWARZ Several of them came to shake his hand and encourage him while, not far from there, a demonstration was taking place denouncing the planned reappointment of Vladimir Putin for a new term. She could make a statement when she leaves the embassy. Youlia Navalnaïa knows the German capital well, having notably stayed there for several weeks during the convalescence of her late husband in 2020, when he was the victim of serious poisoning which he attributed to the Kremlin. Upon his return to Russia in January 2021, he was immediately arrested. Yulia Navalnaïa, the widow of Alexeï Navalny, former main opponent of Vladimir Putin, in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin to vote on the last day of the presidential election in her country, March 17, 2024 © AFP – Tobias SCHWARZ “Everyone knows the result” of the vote in advance, Maria Katkova, 33, living in Berlin for training, told AFP. But ” I want to be with all these people, to feel that I am not alone”, she adds in the queue in Berlin, “and above all I do not want my ballot to be stolen”. Stanislav Vliasov, also 33, from Samara in Russia, said he came “to show the whole world and Russians that people are against the current situation” in Russia. Voters queue outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin to vote on the last day of their country's presidential election, March 17, 2024 © AFP – Tobias SCHWARZ After the vote “there will still be a lot to do to fight Putin's regime”, said this young man, who works in finance. Russians vote on Sunday on the last day of a poll intended to celebrate the triumph of Vladimir Putin, at the helm of the country for 24 years, despite repression in the country. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116