“You can’t go wrong,” says the Russian president squinting at the screen to check that he didn’t go wrong, before thanking the computer.
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Putin’s computer is running an unlicensed copy of WindowsIn the video of his online vote, the “Activate Windows” watermark is clearly visible.A legal copy of Windows 11 starts at $139. https://t.co/YPsNaIIM3K pic.twitter.com/2ebw3feLKv September 18, 2026
The above embed comes via the nonprofit Central European news aggregator Visegrad24. The magnified section of the video shows a screen effect that looks very similar to the Windows activation reminder watermark. However, the other overlay on the screen is obviously from a different computer, and it’s dated 2018. We found some established Russian media sources with the video recording, like Komsomolskaya Pravda, and there does indeed appear to be a watermark present shown on Putin's computer screen at the end of the voting clip.
Russian state media source TASS explains that the vote was to elect deputies to the 9 th State Duma. It says that over recent years “Putin has preferred to cast his vote remotely.” It also reveals that some former Ukrainian territories will get to participate in this vote. “For the first time ever, residents of the recently incorporated Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, will participate in legislative elections for the lower house of the Russian parliament,” says the official Russian news agency.
Returning to the social media bubbling up over the Kremlin clip, some valid points seem to be raised. Putin’s comment about “you can’t go wrong” is almost a reverse Vranyo. There is hardly going to be uncertainty about the result of any vote in Russia. Hot tip: We think that United Russia, the ruling pro-Kremlin party backed by Vladimir Putin, is going to do well this year.
We also note that the president seems to be voting on a foreign (Dell brand) computer. By law, Russian officials must use computers with certain levels of localization, so it might be reasonable to assume this machine was set up entirely for Putin’s voting publicity clip. That would also go some way to explain an unactivated, unregistered copy of Windows being used. It’s likely a fresh, clean copy of Microsoft ’s OS run separate from any government network.
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(Image credit: Visegrad24 ) (Image credit: Visegrad24 ) (Image credit: Russian State Media) Image 1 of 3 View Original
As for Putin’s computer skills, it looks like his interactions with the online voting forms are largely being hampered because he can’t see properly, rather than a hand-eye-coordination issue. There are uncomfortably pregnant pauses between the 73-year-old squinting and leaning into the screen and clicking the mouse. Either Putin should wear his glasses, or the Kremlin administrators are going to need to code a Big Picture Mode for his nuclear launch computer.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/putin-casts-online-vote-using-unlicensed-windows-on-an-american-dell-pc-activate-windows-watermark-visible-in-official-kremlin-clip-uses-foreign-dell-pc-despite-russian-tech-mandate#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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