Putin’s Unstoppable Reign: Inside Russia’s Controversial Election Drama!

President Vladimir Putin’s authority over Russia is set to be prolonged for another six years, following his claim of a sweeping victory on Monday in a highly controlled presidential election devoid of genuine opposition.

Putin
Putin

The election was meticulously orchestrated to validate Putin’s leadership, aged 71, amidst a crackdown on dissent that has resulted in the demise, incarceration, or exile of his adversaries, while his conflict in neighboring Ukraine enters its third year. Having governed Russia for 24 years already, he will soon match the tenure of Soviet leader Josef Stalin as the nation’s longest-serving contemporary ruler.

Putin secured 87.31% of the votes, according to Russia’s electoral commission early Monday, with over 99% of ballots counted. Turnout was reported at 74%.

Putin hailed the outcome as a reflection of the nation’s “confidence” and “hope” in him.

Russian elections have long been marred by allegations of widespread fraud, yet the result this time was never in doubt.

The remaining three candidates on the ballot represented parties that have historically aligned with the Kremlin’s interests: 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 sought to portray as more inclined towards liberalism.

However, none posed genuine opposition to Putin, having supported his agenda and barely campaigned.

Former regional lawmaker Yekaterina Duntsova and politician Boris Nadezhdin attempted to secure a place on the ballot with an anti-war stance but were barred from candidacy by the authorities.

The electorate also had the option of electronic voting over three days, orchestrated by the Kremlin to incentivize higher turnout, allowing it to claim widespread support for Putin and his policies.

Since the full-scale invasion initiated by Putin in February 2022, the Kremlin has maintained that the entire populace stands “unified” behind the Russian leader and his escalating confrontation with the West. Putin’s approval ratings have remained elevated, although assessing public sentiment in Russia is challenging as individuals are often hesitant to express themselves freely.

Those in Russia who oppose Putin’s policies and war have been marginalized, often forced into exile or persecuted for their dissenting views as part of a sweeping crackdown on opposition unprecedented since the Soviet era.

Russia’s opposition has been decimated by years of coercion and thrown into disarray by the demise of its figurehead, Alexei Navalny, in a remote Arctic detention facility just weeks prior to the election, widely denounced by his supporters, family, and numerous Western leaders as an orchestrated assassination by the Kremlin.

Despite the climate of repression wherein mass demonstrations are nearly inconceivable, Navalny urged people to congregate at polling stations on Sunday at noon to manifest dissent.

Navalny’s associates circulated images of individuals queuing outside polling stations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, the turnout for the protest, dubbed “Noon against Putin,” remained unclear.

No arrests were reported during these demonstrations, although a local election official was apprehended at a polling station in Moscow for sporting a T-shirt bearing Navalny’s name on Sunday, according to OVD-info, a Russian civil rights organization.

There were also instances of vehement displays of dissent, with state media documenting numerous incidents of individuals hurling colored dye or Molotov cocktails at ballot boxes and polling stations.

In the absence of genuine alternatives and reliable polling data, the Kremlin was eager to lay claim to an overwhelming victory and high voter turnout as indicative of support for Putin’s trajectory for the nation, with the military as its linchpin. Prior to the election, Putin urged Russians to cast their votes as a “demonstration of patriotic sentiment,” asserting the need “to reaffirm our unity and resolve to progress collectively.”

On the snow-laden streets of Moscow ahead of the vote, individuals were hesitant to engage in discourse regarding the election, with little indication of a pivotal event shaping the nation’s future.

The majority, when approached by news outlets, indicated their intention to vote for Putin or abstain from voting altogether.

Asked about the economic impact of the war on Russia, Sergei, a legal practitioner from Siberia, remarked that he had not perceived the effects of international sanctions. “I toil diligently and assiduously, that’s all,” remarked Sergei, aged 42. “I haven’t truly felt it. There’s certainly something there, inflation. But such is the era we inhabit.”

The resilience of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions has bolstered Putin. While certain prices have surged and the conflict has exacerbated labor shortages, official data indicates a rise in wages as well, mitigating the prominence of the war in the daily deliberations of many Russians.

Sergei expressed confidence in Russia’s prospects of prevailing in the war and emerging stronger from it.

“We will thrive,” he asserted. “As always, we refrain from despair and cling to optimism.”

The election coincided with Russian forces in Ukraine pressing forward against Kyiv’s military, which has been debilitated by ammunition and personnel shortages amidst waning Western support. In a symbolic triumph for Putin preceding the election, Russia seized the nearly-ruined Ukrainian town of Avdiivka following months of skirmishes, underscoring the warnings that diminished backing for Kyiv would fortify the Kremlin’s position.

For the first time, four Ukrainian regions annexed by Putin in late 2022 participated in Russia’s presidential election, despite Moscow’s incomplete control over these territories and ongoing hostilities on the front lines.

In the days leading up to the election and even as Russians cast their votes, Ukrainian drones launched attacks across the country, while pro-Ukrainian paramilitary units endeavored to infiltrate border regions of Belgorod and Kursk, which were also subjected to aerial bombardment. Putin pledged retaliation for what he characterized as a “criminal” endeavor “to disrupt the electoral process and intimidate the populace.”

Putin has wielded power since 2000, briefly relinquishing the presidency for four years between 2008 and 2012 to assume the role of prime minister. Constitutional revisions spearheaded by him in 2021 reset his presidential term limits, enabling him to remain in power until at least 2036, by which time he will be 83 years old.

Leave a Reply