Raphael Stevens

Alexei Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya joined election protesters outside the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday (17 March).The crowd could be heard chanting her name as Ms Navalnaya shook hands with protesters.Protesters could also be seen holding up a fake street sign reading “Alexei Navalny Street”.The sham Russian election, taking place this weekend, is widely expected to confirm Vladimir Putin’s fifth term of presidency, set to last for at least another six years.Putin, 71, faces little competition; his opponents are either in jail or in exile abroad. His most prominent competition- Mr Navalny – died in a remote Arctic penal colony last month. More

A Russian voter flooded a ballet box with green paint in protest against Vladimir Putin.The resident took disruptive action at the polling station in the Alekseevsky district of the Belgorod region of Russia, by flooding a stationary ballot box with green paint on the second day of the presidential elections.The resident was promptly arrested by police at the scene.The sham election is widely expected to confirm Putin’s fifth term of presidency, set to last for at least another six years.Putin, 71, faces little competition; his opponents are either in jail or in exile abroad. More

Alexei Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya has issued a defiant election message to Vladimir Putin at a Hungarian rally.The current Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban is reportedly an old friend and political ally of Putin.As Russia heads to the polls for a general election, Ms Navalnaya recorded an appeal, which was shown at the rally on Saturday (16 March).Ms Navalnaya said: “In every speech I make, I emphasise one thing: Putin is not Russia. Russia is not Putin. And Hungary is not Orban either. This is what you prove here today. Democratic and free Hungary has allies – tens of millions of my fellow citizens who also want to live in a democratic and free Russia.” More

Vladimir Putin is shown appearing to vote online in the Russian election, in a new video released by the Kremlin.The video, released on Friday (15 March), shows Putin voting on the first of three presidential election days in Russia.Russian authorities have been promoting online voting since the beginning of the pandemic, but critics have panned it as an attempt to obscure real voting data.The sham election is widely expected to confirm Putin’s fifth term of presidency, set to last for at least another six years.The footage has not been verifed by The Independent. More

Watch the moment Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya shared a final kiss as he was detained in Moscow in 2021.The Russian opposition leader, 47, has reportedly died in an Arctic jail on Friday, 16 February. He was Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic.In the video, he was returning to Russia after spending five months recovering from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.With officers awaiting him, he and his wife share several kisses and hug each other tightly, before she turns her back so she doesn’t have to watch him leave. He then disappeared with the officers. More

David Cameron labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin an “aggressive dictator” during his diplomatic visit to Warsaw today (Thursday).The British Foreign Secretary met with Polis Foreign Affairs Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to address the media following discussions on increasing defence production for Ukraine and bolstering support in the ongoing conflict with Russia.Lord Cameron said: “I see this as the challenge of our generation. Two foreign ministers standing here today, it’s like two foreign ministers standing here in the 1930s, where we faced a similar challenge from a similar aggressive dictator who was trying to change Europe’s boundaries by force.” More