After courts banned an antiwar party from the ballot, opposition politician Ilya Yashin’s allies pick a new weapon: showing up to vote, all at the exact same minute

The bureau of Ilya Yashin’s Peaceful Russia party has proposed a coordinated voting action for September 20 — the main day of voting in Russia’s State Duma election.

In a statement, the party said: ”[The party] is proposing that everyone who disagrees with Putin’s policies vote on the same day and at the same time: exactly at noon on September 20. This will let citizens express their protest against the war and the dictatorship through legal means. This will be a noon for a peaceful Russia.”

Peaceful Russia issued the call after Russia’s Supreme Court removed the antiwar Yabloko party from the State Duma election.

Yashin’s party also urged Russians to campaign and vote against United Russia. “The fewer votes Putin’s party receives, the stronger the position of the antiwar segment of Russian society will be. Any vote against United Russia is a vote against the war,” the party said.

A similar tactic was used during Russia’s 2024 presidential election. The “Noon Against Putin” protest, called for by the opposition, took place in Russian cities and around the world on March 17, 2024, coinciding with that vote. The opposition had urged citizens to turn out at polling stations by noon local time that Sunday and either vote for any candidate other than Putin or spoil their ballot.