By Dasha Litvinova, Associated Press
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — As expected, President Vladimir Putin secured another six years in control in a preordained election landslide election landslide that occurs during the strictest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times.
The three days of voting, in which Putin faced three symbolic opponents but none providing voters any real choice, went ahead with barely any independent monitoring and were marked by a level of pressure unseen in previous Russian elections. That left little room for protests, but some Russians still tried to defy authorities.
Some important points from the election:
PUTIN WAS IN FULL CONTROL OF THE ELECTION
The Central Election Commission said Putin received 87.28% of the vote, the highest number for any president in post-Soviet Russia. It said turnout was 77.44% of the electorate, also the biggest. Others on the ballot all finished in single digits, and anti-war candidates were not allowed to run.
The state news agency RIA Novosti said the vote “as expected … took place in an atmosphere of unprecedented national unity.”
There was no footage from CCTV cameras at polling stations depicting voter fraud or ballot-box stuffing -– access to the footage was more heavily restricted than in previous elections -– and hardly any independent monitors were on hand to document irregularities.
There still was voter intimidation, however, according to Golos, Russia’s prominent independent election watchdog, noting it received reports of citizens being pressured to vote in over 60 Russian regions. On Sunday, voters were searched at polling stations, and some reported police checking their ballots before they were cast or peering over their shoulder while they filled them out, Golos said.
“Nothing like that has happened on such a scale at elections in Russia before,” Golos said in a statement Monday. A total of 89 people were detained Sunday in 22 cities, said OVD-Info, a rights group that monitors political arrests.
The 71-year-old Russia leader “chose to show his adversaries his power,” said political analyst Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin’s speechwriter.
Vandalism also was reported at polling stations, with arson attempts or some pouring ink into ballot boxes. On Sunday, a woman who set off a firecracker in a polling station bathroom was injured. At least 34 people were detained on vandalism charges over the weekend, according to Russian independent news outlet Verstka.
A STYMIED OPPOSITION STILL MUSTERED SOME PROTESTS
The Kremlin has severely crippled the Russian opposition in recent years. Top figures are either in jail or in exile abroad, and the death last month of Alexei Navalny, who was Putin’s most vocal opponent, raised even more questions about what lies ahead for them.
On Sunday, some Russians turned up at polling stations at home and abroad at noon local time and formed long lines in a strategy endorsed by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other Putin adversaries.
Experts had said the 'Noon Against Putin' tactic would check how well exiled opposition figures could gather supporters during the crackdown that has mostly prevented people from organizing large protests.
Its success was difficult to measure. Navalny’s team posted pictures of queues at voting locations in Russia and embassies overseas as evidence that many followed their call. Reporters from The Associated Press and other independent media interviewed voters in multiple places who confirmed they participated in the protest.
But Russian officials and state media saw the lines as a positive sign, saying they showed increased interest in the election.
This protest may not have directly affected the Kremlin and the election's result, but it did demonstrate that such 'silent resistance' — both within the country and abroad — will persist, according to Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
“The message to political manipulators has been sent: ‘We are here, this is what we are like, we’re not giving up, we’re prepared to be creative in using unexpected windows (of opportunity to protest),’” Kolesnikov said.
UNPOPULAR MOVES PROBABLY ARE AHEAD
In a post-election news conference, Putin seemed at ease, Gallyamov noted, probably realizing that “he has secured his future for at least six years ahead.”
Displaying his confidence, Putin even mentioned Navalny by name -– something he had avoided doing in public for years -– and disclosed that days before his rival's death, he endorsed the idea of releasing him from prison in a prisoner exchange.
There will probably be a period for officials to celebrate the victory, Gallyamov said, but after that, unpopular measures could be on the horizon.
After his re-election in 2018, Putin famously raised the retirement age, a decision that sparked significant opposition and led to protests.
Decisions were made prior to this year’s election 'to keep the lid on public discontent,' such as preventing price hikes and not announcing another deployment of troops to Ukraine, but all of that could change now, he said.
The crackdown on dissent is also expected to continue.
Some experts propose Putin might further test NATO’s resolve during his fifth term.
