Vladimir Putin, who was re-elected and can be within the Kremlin for one more six years within the outcomes of the presidential election to this point with out opposition, has painted a portrait of a Russia that’s “strengthened” by his victory and won’t be “intimidated” by the her opponents.
The Kremlin strongman, in energy for almost 1 / 4 of a century, took greater than 87 % of the vote with 98 % of polling stations built-in, the RIA information company reported, citing the election fee. That is the very best share he has ever acquired, following an election course of by which the opposition was sidelined.
Addressing Russians final evening, Mr Putin thanked those that went to the polls and created the situations for “home political stabilization and strengthening”, two years after Russia's navy invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented Western sanctions that adopted.
“I wish to thank all of you, in addition to all of the residents of the nation, to your assist and your belief,” he instructed his marketing campaign crew, earlier than promising that Russia would tackle all its opponents.
“It doesn't matter who needs to intimidate us or at what level, who needs to crush us or at what level, our will and conscience. Nobody has ever succeeded in doing such a factor in historical past. This has no impact as we speak and may have no impact sooner or later,” mentioned the 71-year-old Russian president.
The three-day vote, from Friday to Sunday, was marred by Ukrainian shelling and incursions by militants who say they’re Russians preventing alongside Ukraine in border areas, in addition to protests at polling stations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned that Vladimir Putin is “drunk on energy” and desires to “reign without end”, the pinnacle of British diplomacy David Cameron spoke of elections that had been neither “free” nor “honest”, the diplomacy of The USA condemned the truth that a vote was held in Ukrainian areas below the occupation of Moscow, whereas German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier made it recognized that there isn’t any technique to “congratulate” the occupant of the Kremlin.
“I wrote Navalny”
Vladimir Putin, who is just not dominated out to hunt re-election after this new time period and stay in energy till 2036, devoted a part of his speeches to the troopers preventing in Ukraine, who’re “risking their lives” so as to “defend historic lands of Russia”.
He additionally judged that the Russian troops, which proceed to be on the offensive after taking up Avdiivka in mid-February, dealing with Ukrainian forces missing personnel and ammunition, have “the total initiative of actions” on the fronts.
The authorities didn’t enable any actual opponents of energy to take part. All three different candidates chosen toed the Kremlin's line on Ukraine and the crackdown that culminated within the demise of Alexei Navalny in an Arctic jail in February.
On this presidential election, the widow of Vladimir Putin's primary critic, Yulia Navalny, referred to as on his supporters to prove en masse on the polling stations on the identical time, at midday on Sunday, in opposition to the Kremlin occupant.
She voted herself, after ready for hours with a big crowd on the Russian embassy in Berlin.
“I wrote (on the poll) the title 'Navalni' as a result of it isn’t attainable (…) a month earlier than the elections, Putin's fundamental opponent, already imprisoned, needs to be killed,” he instructed the press after casting his vote.
Wounds and invasions
In lots of different Russian embassies, crowds turned out to vote at midday, as tens of 1000’s of Russians have been exiled because the outbreak of battle in Ukraine, on account of repression or worry of conscription.
Alexei Navalny's crew assured that Vladimir Putin's efficiency has “nothing to do with actuality”.
In some places in Moscow, in addition to in St. Petersburg, lengthy queues fashioned on the introduced time. Nevertheless, in different polling stations, the turnout didn’t appear notably excessive.
Within the Moscow district of Marino, in entrance of the polling station the place Alexei Navalny voted, just a few dozen individuals responded to this name.
“I used to be capable of meet some individuals, and I felt that we’ve got the identical views. I'm not alone,” mentioned Olga, 52, earlier than going together with her son to the grave of the opposition determine, who was buried within the district.
A number of dozen individuals additionally went to the cemetery, laying flowers on the grave, in addition to ballots to which they’d added Navalny's title.
General, the opposition demonstrations had been held in an environment of calm, however the NGO OVD-Information, which focuses on monitoring repression, reported at the least 85 arrests throughout Russia on account of varied types of election protests.
Vladimir Putin, for his half, assured that the actions of the opposition had “no affect” on the method, asserting on the identical time that prison costs can be introduced in opposition to those that invalidated or destroyed ballots, which is a prison offense in Russia.
The battle in Ukraine was the uninvited visitor of the vote.
The week of the election was marked by lethal bombings and tried floor invasions of Russian territory from Ukraine, acts of retaliation for Russia's each day bombings and assaults on its neighbor for greater than two years.
Yesterday morning, a 16-year-old lady died in a shelling in Belgorod, close to the border, a metropolis usually focused by Ukrainians. After midday, one other particular person was killed and 19 had been injured within the district of the identical title.
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