Almost complete presidential election results underlined Vladimir Putin’s total control of Russia’s political system but opposition still managed to surface despite harsh suppression.
President Vladimir Putin basked in a victory early Monday that was never in doubt, as partial election results underlined the Russian leader’s total control of the country’s political system.
After facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices, Putin was .
Putin, 71, hailed the overwhelming early results as an indication of „trust“ and „hope“ in him – while critics saw them as another reflection of the preordained nature of the election.
„Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for everyone: When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future,“ Putin said at a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow early Monday, hours after polls closed.
If he finishes his upcoming term, Putin will have been in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century, Agence France-Presse points out.
Any public criticism of Putin or his has been stifled. Independent media have been crippled. His fiercest political foe, last month, and other major critics are either dead, imprisoned or in exile.
Beyond the fact that voters had virtually no choice, independent monitoring of the election was extremely limited. According to Russia’s Central Election Commission, Putin had some 87% of the vote with about 98% of precincts counted.
But British Foreign Secretary David Cameron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: „This is not what free and fair elections look like.“
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy assailed Putin as a „dictator“ who was „drunk from power,“ AFP reported, adding that Zelenskyy said, „There is no evil he will not commit to prolong his personal power.
