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Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared to cast his ballot in the country’s State Duma elections using a Dell computer displaying what appears to be the familiar “Activate Windows” watermark, drawing attention to the use of foreign technology during an official Kremlin event.
The footage shows Putin completing an online ballot while sitting in front of a computer screen. As he selects his candidate, he remarks, “You can’t go wrong.” Images from the video appear to show the Windows activation watermark in the lower-right portion of the display, although the footage does not independently establish why the operating system was not activated.
The vote was for deputies to Russia’s ninth State Duma, with Putin once again choosing to vote remotely. Russian state media outlet TASS also reported that residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, would participate in the legislative elections for the first time.
The computer itself has become part of the story. The machine appears to be a Dell system, an American brand, despite Russian requirements that government technology meet specified levels of domestic localization. The footage therefore raises questions about whether the computer was prepared specifically for the televised voting demonstration rather than being part of a standard government workstation.
The apparent Windows watermark could have a similarly mundane explanation. An unactivated installation of Windows can operate normally while displaying a persistent activation reminder. It is possible that a fresh installation was prepared for the event without being registered to a license, although there is no public confirmation of how the machine was configured.
The video has also prompted commentary about Putin’s interaction with the voting system. He can be seen pausing repeatedly, leaning toward the screen and carefully moving the mouse before completing the ballot. The footage does not establish whether this was caused by difficulty seeing the display, unfamiliarity with the interface, or simply the pace at which he was completing the process.
For now, the most notable detail remains the computer itself. An official Kremlin video appears to have inadvertently highlighted an American-made Dell PC running Windows with an activation reminder, providing an unusual glimpse of the technology used during Putin’s public online voting appearance.
