Vladimir Putin has been elected as Russian president for the 5th time, extending his rule over Russia until 2030.
The Kremlin claims that Putin won 87 percent of the vote, his biggest margin of victory in any election in which he he has taken part. Putin also won 95 percent of the vote in the occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine, with another 5 million votes coming from other occupied regions of Ukraine. Some outlets, such as the NY Times, reported that people were directed to cast their votes by armed Russian soldiers.
During his victory speech, he discussed his plans to continue Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saying, “We need to carry out the tasks in the context of the special military operation”. He also addressed the mysterious death of opposition leader, Aleksei A. Navalny. He said that the passing of Navalny was an “unfortunate incident.”
“They can declare any results they want, given that the process is not transparent,”
— Grigorii Golosov, political scientist in St. Petersburg, Russia
Western leaders were quick to condemn the election as undemocratic. The election lasted for 3 days. Prolonging the election, which it easier for the Kremlin to drive up turnout and made it much harder for anyone to spot any voter fraud, such as ballet stuffing.
Putin also addressed a possible conflict between Russia and NATO saying, “I think that anything is possible in today’s world.”
If Putin remains in power until the end of this new 6 year term, he will be the longest serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
Sources:
With New Six-Year Term, Putin Cements Hold on Russian Leadership
