Official Russian state photo shows Vladimir Putin casting online vote using an unlicensed version of Windows 10 — and to make things worse, it's on an American Dell PC

(Image credit: Getty Images/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / Contributor) A Vladimir Putin press call showed the Russian president casting an online vote for the country’s parliamentary electionsThe short clip has revealed that not only is Putin using a US-built Dell PC, it is running Windows 10 – and the license has not been activatedPutin’s example of voting online is intended to encourage voters to take part, but has instead raised eyebrows and launched memesParliamentary elections in Russia took place on Friday, September 18 2026, with online voting for positions in the State Duma open to the public for the first time. To demonstrate the ease of online voting, a press call highlighted Russian President Vladimir Putin casting his vote – but this hasn’t gone quite as planned.While the president appeared to have difficulty reading the display, the real challenge seems to be that the Russian leader is using a version of Windows 10 that has not been activated. Furthermore, the PC is a Dell, rather than a Russian-built system.The Putin publicity stunt has already launched memes, but the it also raises questions about his ability to use a computer, not to mention the suitability of the hardware for voting.“You can’t go wrong”With 73-year-old President Putin lined up for the cameras with the Dell PC set up on his desk, he goes through the motions of “voting online,” presumably to demonstrate how easy it is. (In person and mail voting options were also available.)The press call has all the authenticity of an unlicensed copy of Windows 10. Ironically, this is exactly what is in use, as you can see toward the end of the video.Watch to the end: Putin VOTES ONLINE and SPARKS a MEME STORM: The VIRAL ELECTION MOMENT - YouTube Watch On Although an initial reaction might be “Russian state IT is pretty weak,” it seems more likely that the state-controlled hardware overseeing infrastructure, networks, and military systems is far more up-to-date. What is more likely is that that PC was pulled out of a back room and an old copy of Windows quickly installed simply to provide President Putin with his short encouragement to vote.Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!Dell vs. AquariusThe use of a Dell PC is curious, however. While Russia and the US have cordial relations, it seems strange for the Russian president to use a foreign PC. Sanctions aside, Russia has a policy of forcing the use of home-grown brands (such as Aquarius) over those from overseas.After voting, the five-times elected Russian leader uttered the memorable line “you can’t go wrong,” in his native language, perhaps highlighting the futility of voting for any candidates not in his favoured party, United Russia.While it is difficult to assess the legitimacy of the elections in Russia itself, the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom have challenged the elections in occupied Ukraine territories. The nations have described the them as “sham elections” that violate “Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, and the UN Charter.” Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Christian Cawley has extensive experience as a writer and editor in consumer electronics, IT and entertainment media. He has contributed to TechRadar since 2017 and has been published in Computer Weekly, Linux Format, ComputerActive, and other publications. He currently heads up the team at smart home website Matter Alpha, and writes about retro gaming at Gaming Retro.