Ahead of Russia's farce of an election, state television aired a menacing get-out-the-vote commercial. A pregnant young woman stands in her modest kitchen, chopping vegetables and asking her husband about his day — did he remember to get groceries? Yes. Did he remember to vote? No, he shrugs, saying, "What difference does it make?" The ad suddenly shifts into horror-film mode, the lights flickering, the music ominous. The wife advances slowly toward him, brandishing her kitchen knife. She lists off all the wonderful things the Kremlin has promised for the future that they will lose if he doesn't vote — child payments, subsidized loans — and chases him out of the apartment. Off he runs to the polls, just in time. It's an entertaining spot, funny in the way of Russian black humor, but there's a subliminal message in it, too. Vote, or face violence.
Why would Vladimir Putin bother trying to motivate voters? The outcome here was a foregone conclusion, since the candidates ostensibly running against him were Kremlin-picked non-entities who didn't even campaign against him. But holding an election allows him to pretend that Russia is a democracy, that his people support him, that his rule is legitimate. This year, with the war in Ukraine dragging on and killing tens of thousands of Russian soldiers each month, the regime resorted to new measures to compel turnout, extending the balloting for three days and introducing electronic voting. Public-sector employees were ordered to bring others with them to the polls. Coerced into voting, Russia's beleaguered opposition managed to turn the act into a protest: They showed up, but all at the same time on the final day, a silent display of defiance. While such a protest does nothing to weaken Putin's repressive hold on Russia, it shows that there is a flicker of dissent that Putin hasn't been able to snuff out.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Deportations ensnare migrant families, U.S. citizensFeature Trump's deportation crackdown is sweeping up more than just immigrants as ICE targets citizens, judges and nursing mothers
-
Trump shrugs off warnings over trade war costsFeature Trump's tariffs are spiraling the U.S. toward an economic crisis as shipments slow down—and China doesn't plan to back down
-
A newly created gasoline giant in the Americas could change the industry landscapeThe Explainer Sunoco and Parkland are two of the biggest fuel suppliers in the US and Canada, respectively
-
Deportations ensnare migrant families, U.S. citizens
Feature Trump's deportation crackdown is sweeping up more than just immigrants as ICE targets citizens, judges and nursing mothers
-
Trump shrugs off warnings over trade war costs
Feature Trump's tariffs are spiraling the U.S. toward an economic crisis as shipments slow down—and China doesn't plan to back down
-
Is the UK's two-party system finally over?Today's Big Question 'Unprecedented fragmentation puts voters on a collision course with the electoral system'
-
A 'meltdown' at Hegseth's PentagonFeature The Defense Secretary is fighting to keep his job amid leaked Signal chats and staff turmoil
-
Reining in Iran: Talks instead of bombsFeature Trump edges closer to a nuclear deal with Iran—but is it too similar to former President Barack Obama's pact?
-
Tariffs: The quest to bring back 'manly' jobsFeature Trump's tariffs promise to revive working-class jobs, but today's labor market has moved on
-
David Hogg challenges Democrats' 'ineffective' old guardTalking Points He plans to fund primary challenges to Democratic incumbents
-
Trump's war on academic freedom: how Harvard fought backTalking Point Political pressure on institutions compromises academic independence – and risks damaging America's ability to attract international talent
