Vladimir Putin secured an unprecedented fifth time period as president of Russia Monday, because the election fee introduced the outcomes of a vote during which he confronted no critical challenges and which occurred amid the strictest crackdown on opposition and free speech since Soviet instances.
Putin claimed his overwhelming margin was proof that Russians had positioned their “belief” and “hopes” in him, whereas politicians throughout Europe rejected the vote as a sham and condemned Russia’s efforts to stage elections in occupied elements of Ukraine that it claims as its personal territory.
This is what Putin, European leaders and others are saying:
“After all, now we have a number of duties forward. However I need to make it clear for everybody: once we had been consolidated, nobody has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed prior to now and they’re going to fail sooner or later.” — Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
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“The elections came about in an ever-shrinking political house, which has resulted in an alarming enhance of violations of civil and political rights, and precluded many candidates from operating, together with all these against Russia’s unlawful conflict of aggression.” — assertion from the European Union
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“There is no such thing as a legitimacy within the imitation of elections.” — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, in nightly radio deal with on Sunday
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“The outcomes are, in fact, beautiful. It’s a critical sign to the West, which has sought to destabilize the home state of affairs in Russia.” — President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, throughout a gathering with officers after congratulating Putin in a name
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“We contemplate this so-called election in Russia final weekend to be neither free nor honest … Russia, because the chancellor has already stated, is now a dictatorship and is dominated by Vladimir Putin in an authoritarian method.” — Christina Hoffmann, spokeswoman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
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“Russia’s group of elections in occupied elements of Georgia and Ukraine is totally unlawful. And Russia’s presidential election was clearly neither free nor honest.” — NATO Secretary Basic Jens Stoltenberg whereas visiting Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday
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“These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression beneath President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his unlawful conflict. Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, after which crowns himself the winner. This isn’t democracy.” — David Cameron, U.Okay. overseas secretary.
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“Searches at entrances to polling stations, makes an attempt to test ballots earlier than voters put them into poll bins, detentions of voters who got here to vote midday. Now there’s a report that at one polling station in Moscow police has demanded {that a} chairman of a fee (of ballot staff) open a poll field and provides them a poll with one thing written on it. It’s the first time in my life that I see such absurdity.” — Stanislav Andreychuk, co-chair of Golos impartial election watchdog, on Telegram
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“I’m glad that folks outdoors the confines of the political jail that known as Russia presently are in a position to categorical their opinions … For instance, Russians that voted in in Lithuania, simply 3% of those that got here to Russian embassy in Vilnius voted for Vladimir Putin. Others determined both to damage the paper or to vote for another candidate that was there on the poll.” — Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuanian overseas minister
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“The election in Russia was an election with out a alternative. Holding so-called elections in elements of Ukraine, elements of Moldova and elements of Georgia is opposite to worldwide regulation. It’s due to this fact all of the extra outstanding what number of Russians made it clear this weekend that they don’t see eye to eye with this Russian president. That you just go to a polling station even in case you are accompanied by troopers — that fills me with the utmost respect.” — German Overseas Minister Annalena Baerbock
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