President Vladimir Putin has won a record post-Soviet landslide in the Russian election’s conducted on Sunday, securing his already tight grip on power in the country.
Putin, who first rose to power in 1999, had clearly stated that the result would stand to send a message to the West that its leaders will have to deal with an emboldened Russia, in wartime or in peace, for several more years to come.
Winning the Russian elections means that Putin will embark on a new six-year term that will see him surpass Josef Stalin to become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years if he completes the term.
Putin, age 71, had won 87.8% of the vote, the highest ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll by pollster, the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM).
The communist candidate on the other hand, Nikolai Kharitonov, had finished second with just under 4%. A newcomer Vladislav Davankov came third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky placed fourth.
Putin’s supporters had chanted “Putin, Putin, Putin” when he appeared on stage in Moscow, to give his victory speech and “Russia, Russia, Russia” after he was done with his acceptance speech.
Not everybody is thrilled though about the President’s win. The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and other nations have declared that election had been neither free nor fair due to the jailing of political opponents and censorship. A move that literally translates to “killing of the competition.”
Several political pundits have been of the opinion that Putin wouldn’t have relinquished power either way, knowing him and I can’t help but agree to this school of thought.
Several think pieces have cropped up on social media, questioning whether those who voted against Putin and for their chosen candidates would be imprisoned or worse, un-alived.
Putin has meanwhile, told reporters that he regarded Russia’s election as democratic and has remarked that the Navalny-inspired protest against him had had no effect on the election’s outcome.
