By the time the protests reached Moscow on Sunday afternoon, thousands of Russians across the country had already marched in support of boycotting presidential elections in March.

They marched in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East, and they marched in Siberia's Irkutsk, braving subzero temperatures. They marched for fair and free elections, they said, and for an end to President Vladimir Putin’s nearly two-decade-long rule. Should he win the vote on March 18 — as is widely expected — it would extend his presidency for another six years.

In more than one hundred cities across the country, Russians took to the streets in support of opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s call for what he has termed a “voters’ strike.” Navalny called for the boycott earlier in January after being barred from registering as a candidate due to a prior criminal conviction his supporters see as a political ploy.

The largest protests of the day were expected in Moscow. Around 1:30 p.m., protestors of all ages began filing into Pushkinskaya Square in the city’s center, at walking distance from the Kremlin.

By the time the protests reached Moscow on Sunday afternoon, thousands of Russians across the country had already marched in support of boycotting presidential elections in March.

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/russias-youth-takes-the-lead-in-countrywide-protests-against-putin-60309