THE CRUNCH
Russian president Vladimir Putin has voted online in the State Duma elections, but the official video released by the Kremlin has drawn attention for the hardware and software used. The footage shows Putin clicking through the voting interface on a Dell PC, with an 'Activate Windows' watermark clearly visible on the screen. This has sparked debate about the president's computer setup, particularly given reports that
Russian officials are legally required to use computers with a certain level of localisation, so the use of a foreign Dell machine and an unlicensed copy of Windows has raised eyebrows. Tom's Hardware suggests this might be a fresh, clean copy of the OS set up entirely for the publicity clip, separate from any government network. The report also notes that the president's interactions with the voting form appear to be hampered by poor eyesight rather than a lack of computer skills, citing 'uncomfortably pregnant pauses' between Putin squinting at the screen and clicking the mouse.