President Vladimir Putin’s rule over Russia will be extended for at least another six years, after he claimed a landslide win Monday in a stage-managed presidential election with no real opposition.
The vote was orchestrated to legitimize the leadership of Putin, 71, after a crackdown on dissent that has left his rivals dead, jailed or in exile as his war in neighboring Ukraine enters its third year. Having led Russia for 24 years already, he will soon match Soviet leader Josef Stalin as the country’s longest-serving modern ruler.
Putin received 87.32% of the vote, Russia’s election commission said early Monday after more than 99% of ballots had been counted. It reported turnout was 74%.
Putin hailed the results as an indication of the country’s “trust” in him.
Russian elections have for years been tainted by mass fraud allegations, but the result this time was never in doubt.
The three other names on the ballot were from parties that have long served the Kremlin’s agenda: Communist Nikolai Kharitonov; leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party Leonid Slutsky; and Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, the youngest candidate, whom the Kremlin tried to present as more liberal-leaning.
None represented true opposition to Putin, however, having supported his agenda and barely campaigned.
Former regional legislator Yekaterina Duntsova and politician Boris Nadezhdin tried to get on the ballot with an anti-war message, but were barred from running by authorities.
The country was also able to vote electronically and over a span of three days, as the Kremlin sought to encourage a higher turnout that would allow it to claim a wave of support for Putin and his war.
Since the full-scale invasion that Putin launched in February 2022, the Kremlin has insisted the entire nation has been “consolidated” around the Russian leader and his growing clash with the West. Putin’s approval ratings have remained high, although gauging public opinion is difficult…
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