By EMMA BURROWS, DASHA LITVINOVA and JIM HEINTZ (Associated Press)
President Vladimir Putin continued his rule over Russia in a landslide election whose result was never uncertain, stating Monday his resolve to progress further into Ukraine and presenting new threats against the West.
Following the toughest suppression of dissent since Soviet times, it was evident from the earliest results that Putin's almost twenty-five-year rule would continue with a fifth term granting him six more years. Nevertheless, Russians responded to a call to protest Putin's oppression and his war in Ukraine by arriving at polling stations at noon on Sunday.
After all the precincts were counted Monday, election officials announced Putin had obtained a record number of votes, emphasizing the Russian leader's complete control of the country's political system. Western leaders condemned the election as a fraud.
Putin has governed Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999, a period characterized by international military aggression and a growing intolerance for dissent. At the conclusion of his fifth term, Putin would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great, who ruled during the 18th century.
Empowered by his overwhelming victory, Putin stated he intended to establish a buffer zone in Ukraine to shield Russia from cross-border shelling and attacks. When asked if an open conflict could arise between Russia and NATO, Putin responded briefly by saying: “Everything is possible in today’s world,” adding: “it’s clear to everyone that it will put us a step away from full-scale World War III.”
Russian officials stated they enlisted over 500,000 volunteers for the army last year, but many anticipate Putin to mobilize more forces to try to push further into Ukraine.
Putin praised early results showing him with a strong lead as an indication of “trust” and “hope” in him — while critics viewed them as another display of the predetermined nature of the election.
Any public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been suppressed. Independent media have been severely weakened. His strongest political opponent, Alexei Navalny, perished in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either imprisoned or in exile.
Voters had no genuine alternatives to Putin, and independent monitoring of the election was extremely limited.
Russia’s Central Election Commission stated Monday that with all the precincts counted, Putin acquired 87% of the vote. Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova stated that nearly 76 million voters cast their ballots for Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was especially critical of the election and voting in regions of his country that Russia has unlawfully annexed, stating “everything Russia does on the occupied territory of Ukraine is a crime.”
Germany strongly criticized the vote with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokeswoman, Christina Hoffmann, stating that “in our opinion, it was not a democratic election.”
“Russia, as the chancellor has already said, is now a dictatorship and is ruled by Vladimir Putin in an authoritarian manner,” she informed reporters in Berlin.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Foreign Minister of Lithuania, also mocked the voting in Russia, saying that some people might consider it as reappointment without any legitimacy.
President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India congratulated Putin, as did North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of countries with historic and current ties to Russia, such as Azerbaijan and Belarus.
Navalny’s associates encouraged dissatisfied individuals with Putin or the war to go to the polls at noon on Sunday — and lines outside a number of polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world seemed to increase at that time.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Navalny, who spent more than five hours in line at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, told reporters that she wrote her late husband’s name on her ballot.
When asked if she had a message for Putin, Navalnaya responded: “Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he’s a killer, he’s a gangster.”
During the news conference, Putin mentioned Navalny by name for the first time in years, stating that he had been prepared to release him in exchange for unidentified prisoners in Western custody just days before the opposition leader’s death.
Supporters of Navalny gathered at his grave in Moscow, some bringing ballots with his name written on them.
The Russian leader dismissed the effectiveness of the apparent protest and rejected Western criticism of the vote. Instead, he tried to shift the focus to the West, accusing the four criminal cases against former President Donald Trump of being politically motivated.
“The whole world is laughing at it,” he said.
Some individuals told the AP that they were pleased to vote for Putin — not surprising in a country where state TV constantly praises the Russian leader and expressing any different opinion is dangerous.
Dmitry Sergienko, who voted in Moscow, said, “I am satisfied with everything and want everything to continue as it is now.”
Voting took place over three days at polling stations across the vast country, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine and online.
Several individuals were arrested, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg, after attempting to start fires or set off explosives at polling stations while a few others were detained for throwing green antiseptic or ink into ballot boxes. Many more were rounded up by police for attempting to protest.
The OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests reported that about 90 people were arrested in 22 cities across Russia on Sunday.
Stanislav Andreychuk, co-chair of the Golos independent election watchdog, mentioned that Russians were searched upon entering polling stations, there were attempts to check filled-out ballots before they were cast, and one report said police demanded a ballot box be opened to remove a ballot.
Huge lines formed around noon outside diplomatic missions in London, Berlin, Paris and other cities with large Russian communities, many of whom left home after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“If we have some option to protest I think it’s important to utilize any opportunity,” said 23-year-old Tatiana, who was voting in the Estonian capital of Tallinn and said she came to take part in the protest.
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This article has been updated to fix the mistake that Putin mentioned Navalny by name for the first time in years in his comments after the polls closed.
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Check out AP’s reporting on the election in Russia: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-election
