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Vladimir Putin tightened his grip on power, claiming another six-year term as Russian president after a brutally distorted election in which all serious challengers were wiped out before voting began.
With 30 percent of ballots counted, Putin’s tally stood at 87.68% of the vote, election officials announced on Sunday.
Putin’s victory was never in doubt. But this is the biggest share of the vote he has claimed in any of his five presidential election wins since his first in 2000. An official celebration is scheduled for Monday.
The result more than met the objective of an overwhelming victory to buttress Putin’s claim that Russians wholeheartedly back their leader and his invasion of Ukraine. With the winner already known ahead of time, the three-day vote was an exercise in pro-Putin mobilization and a test of loyalty for Russia’s state apparatus.
The election campaign, which saw three other candidates refrain from criticizing the president, was overshadowed by the death last month of Putin’s key opponent, Alexei Navalny.
Even with Navalny out of the way, Putin was taking no chances. On the first two days of voting, thousands of public sector employees, students, and workers from Russian corporations were compelled to cast their ballots.
Turnout was monitored by management — civil service employees were required to report back once they had voted. In some regions, they were even expected to bring relatives and share their geolocations with supervisors via a specially designed app.
Fire and paint
But the intended image of unanimity was marred by dozens of acts of resistance. In about 20 Russian regions, individuals either set voting booths ablaze or poured paint into the ballot boxes.
Authorities assert that the assailants — many of whom were elderly women — were acting on instructions from abroad. All involved now face the prospect of being sentenced to up to five years in prison.
The most significant pushback against Putin occurred on Sunday at noon, when the Russian opposition rallied its supporters for a “Noon Against Putin” protest. The initiative encouraged people to go to the polls at 12 p.m. and simultaneously vote for any candidate other than the incumbent.
The noon demonstration at polling stations was aimed at challenging Putin’s legitimacy, both domestically and internationally.
“For me, the main goal of the action is to make people who are depressed by repression, the seeming hopelessness of the struggle, and who feel isolated from their comrades-in-arms feel that they are not alone. I think this is especially important after Navalny’s murder,” — said Gleb from Moscow, who cast his ballot at noon Sunday. He asked not to give his full name due to fear of reprisals.
The opposition plan worked. Unusually large crowds were seen at polling stations across Russia, from the smallest Siberian towns to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as at Russian embassies and consulates worldwide — from Phuket to Paris and Brussels.
“This is a great opportunity to create the appearance that there are people who are not satisfied with the current state of affairs, who are willing to unite for collective action, and there are many of them,” — said Daniel, who voted in the Russian consulate in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He declined to give his full name amid concerns over potential reprisals.
From the moment the planned demonstration was announced, the Russian state mounted a concerted attempt to undermine it. Local authorities in Russia organized counterfeit public events at noon to distract voters.
In addition, there were several rounds of deceptive mailings targeted at opposition voters in Russia. The first, on Wednesday, falsely claimed to be from Navalny’s team, announcing a postponement of the action. Navalny’s team quickly denied any delay.
The second mailing, sent on Saturday, aimed to intimidate voters with a message saying, “Hi! Despite the fact that you support the ideas of an extremist organization, we are pleased you will vote in Moscow, as every vote matters! We urge you not to succumb to the ideas of those seeking to deceive you, and to vote calmly, without queues or provocations.”
Ekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin — two potential candidates who advocated for immediate peace negotiations and an end to the war — were barred from running against Putin in the contest.
This developing story is being updated. Denis Leven is hosted at POLITICO under the EU-funded EU4FreeMedia residency program.
