As of: March 17, 2024, 12:15 p.m
By: Felix Durach
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing re-election.
Russians living in Germany can also vote in Berlin and Bonn.
What result can be expected?
Berlin – The presidential elections will take place in Russia this weekend.
For President Vladimir Putin, the process is more like a coronation ceremony than a free election.
The autocrat's re-election is considered certain because all serious opposition politicians did not even make it onto the ballot paper.
Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, the approximately 280,000 Russian citizens living in Germany can also take part in the election.
On Sunday (March 17th), those eligible to vote can cast their vote in Berlin or Bonn between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Russian citizens can also cast their vote for Putin in Berlin and Bonn at the weekend.
© Mikhail Metzel/dpa
Putin can also hope for a majority from Germany in the Russian election
In the last two elections, Putin also received the majority of votes from Germany.
Tatiana Golova from the Center for Eastern European and International Studies in Berlin is no surprise that Russians living in Germany are voting for Putin despite his dictatorial rule.
According to the sociologist, voting behavior is a “relatively normal phenomenon”.
This is also because Russians living in Germany would not bear the risks associated with Putin's re-election.
“That means they can vote in an authoritarian manner without themselves or their children having to go to war, for example, that was started by the regime,” Golova said in an interview with
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Russian presidential elections in Germany – Kremlin specifically mobilized pro-Putin voters
Nevertheless, Russian citizens in Germany still voted comparatively liberally in the penultimate election in 2012.
The independent candidate Mikhail Prokhorov received just over 30 percent of the votes cast in Germany - significantly more than in Russia itself. According to figures from the
Washington Post
, Putin received 51 percent of the votes.
Apparently not a good picture for the Kremlin.
“Then in 2018 every effort was made to mobilize conservative voters or pro-Putin voters or to make it easier for them to vote,” explained Golova.
“For example, many buses were organized that took people to the diplomatic missions.” In the end, just over 30,000 eligible voters in Germany cast their votes in the 2018 presidential election.
Thanks to the Kremlin's efforts, the votes for President Putin in Germany had almost tripled compared to 2012.
The incumbent landed at 82 percent in Germany.
However, Golova does not expect a large number of Russian voters in Germany for the 2024 presidential election.
This is simply because Russia closed many of its representations in Germany as a result of the Ukraine war.
The consulates in Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Frankfurt were closed.
Russian citizens can therefore only vote in the two remaining diplomatic missions in Berlin and Bonn.
The effect of the votes will most likely be limited.
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Protest against Putin for the presidential election also planned in Germany
“They won't have a quantitative impact, but what they will have is a qualitative impact, for example in the form of the 'Lunch against Putin' campaign.
This action will also take place in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday,” said the expert.
As part of the campaign, Russian regime critics - including the now deceased Alexei Navalny - called for people to go to the polling station around midday.
The regime opponents want to show their presence on election day.
“The idea is that the 'Lunch against Putin' campaign can also be combined with other forms of protest.
For example, by invalidating the ballot paper.
“This is also an option that many activists and opposition members are in favor of,” Golova continued.
While these actions are unlikely to have a decisive impact on the results of the presidential election, they could produce important images.
In the run-up to the election, opponents of Vladimir Putin had already lined up in various Russian cities to collect signatures for Boris Nadezhdin's candidacy.
“I think that was really a moment where a lot of people got hope because they saw that they weren't alone,” Golova said.
“The opposition is hoping for a similar effect in the presidential election”
(fd)