Devendra Kumar
Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a record-breaking fifth term, marking a further extension of his reign over Russia’s political terrain. The outcome of the election was never in doubt, with Putin winning an astonishing 87% of the vote, backed by over 76 million voters. The result was widely denounced by Western leaders, who deemed the election a sham, and many Russians did not participate, with some showing up to protest Putin’s repression and war in Ukraine. Despite the widespread criticism, Putin’s victory was a foregone conclusion, with opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his greatest political foe, silenced after his death in an Arctic penal colony, and independent voices suppressed in a media blockade.
Ahead of the election, anti-war candidates were barred from the ballot, and online polling made the vote highly susceptible to manipulation. Critics of Putin’s war in Ukraine were also stifled, and public criticism of the president was rare. Putin’s three token challengers appeared on stage with him at a concert on Red Square, publicly supporting him and refraining from criticizing him. The Russian leader has now been in power since December 1999, and at the end of his fifth term, he would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great.
After his victory, Putin promised to advance deeper into Ukraine, carving out a buffer zone to protect Russia from cross-border shelling and attacks. He also made veiled threats against NATO, saying that “everything is possible in today’s world” and that it would put the world “a step away from full-scale World War III.” Putin’s plans to mobilize more forces to push deeper into Ukraine are expected, with many anticipating a larger conflict.
The Kremlin’s confidence is reportedly growing, having learned that its repression is effective and that the population is passive. Western leaders have criticized the election, with the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, saying that “there was nothing free or fair” about the vote. The Ukrainian and German governments also denounced the election, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it a “crime” and the German Chancellor’s spokeswoman saying that Russia is now a “dictatorship” under Putin’s rule. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other world leaders congratulated Putin on his victory, despite the widespread condemnation.