Thousands of people turned up at polling stations in Russia and capitals across the world on Sunday to take part in what the anti-Kremlin opposition said was a peaceful but symbolic protest the re-election of President Vladimir Putin. Despite their relatively small scale, these quiet protests "scared the Kremlin", FRANCE 24's Nick Holdsworth said, adding that the protests "demonstrate that there is a strain in Russian society, to this day, which is very much opposed to Putin".
