Vladimir Putin secured a record post-Soviet landslide victory in Russia’s election, solidifying his hold on power.
He portrayed the win as affirmation that Moscow’s stance against the West and its deployment of troops into Ukraine was justified. Vladimir Putin secured a historic victory in Russia’s election on Sunday, strengthening his firm hold on power with a landslide win. Putin emphasized that the outcome underscores Russia’s resilience against Western pressure and its decision to intervene in Ukraine. As a former KGB officer, Putin’s long tenure in power signals to the West that Russia will remain a formidable force to contend with, both in times of conflict and diplomacy, for the foreseeable future.
The outcome means Putin, 71, is set to embark on a new six-year term that will see him overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years if he completes it, Reuters reports.
Putin won 87.8% of the vote, the highest ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll by pollster the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM). The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87%. First official results indicated the polls were accurate. The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and other nations have said the vote was neither free nor fair due to the imprisonment of political opponents and censorship.
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Partial results indicated that Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured second place with just under 4% of the vote, followed by newcomer Vladislav Davankov in third and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky in fourth.
In his victory speech delivered in Moscow, Putin pledged to prioritize resolving issues related to what he termed Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and emphasized the strengthening of the Russian military. Putin underscored the importance of unity in facing external pressures, asserting that historical attempts to intimidate or suppress Russia have always failed and will continue to do so in the future.
Supporters enthusiastically chanted “Putin, Putin, Putin” as he appeared on stage, and later echoed “Russia, Russia, Russia” after he concluded his acceptance speech.
Meanwhile, in a demonstration inspired by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison the previous month, thousands of opponents protested against Putin at polling stations both within Russia and abroad.
In response to reporters’ questions, Putin affirmed his view of Russia’s election as democratic and dismissed the Navalny-inspired protests, stating that they had no impact on the election’s outcome.
In his first comments on his death, he also said that Navalny’s passing had been a “sad event” and confirmed that he had been ready to do a prisoner swap involving the opposition politician.
When asked by a NBC, a U.S. TV network, whether his re-election was democratic, Putin criticised the U.S. political and judicial systems.
“The whole world is laughing at what is happening (in the United States),” he said. “This is just a disaster, not a democracy.”
“…Is it democratic to use administrative resources to attack one of the candidates for the presidency of the United States, using the judiciary among other things?” he asked, making an apparent reference to four criminal cases against Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The Russian election comes just over two years since Putin triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two by ordering the invasion of Ukraine.
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