The result was clear from the start: in the middle of the war, the power apparatus presented Putin as the clear election winner with an alleged record result. But the protest could not be overlooked.
After a presidential election in Russia that was criticized as a farce, the power apparatus will celebrate Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin as the landslide winner this Monday. After 98 percent of the ballot papers were counted, the 71-year-old, who has been in power for around a quarter of a century, received more than 87 percent, according to the electoral commission.
Two years after the start of Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, this is a record result, which, according to observers, was only achieved through repression, coercion and fraud. Even before the three-day vote began last Friday, preparations for a big victory celebration had begun on Red Square in Moscow.
Putin, who has now secured himself in power for at least six more years and, according to the constitution he amended, is allowed to run again in 2030, is likely to present the result, despite all criticism, as confirmation of his anti-Western and authoritarian course.
Putin does not rule out comprehensive conflict with NATO
He declared on Sunday evening that a comprehensive conflict with NATO could not be ruled out, and in this case the world would be only one step away from a third world war. “I think it’s unlikely that anyone is interested in this,” Putin was quoted as saying by the state agency Tass. According to Putin, numerous soldiers from NATO member states are already deployed in Ukraine. “We already know that,” he said. French and English have already been heard. “That’s not a good thing, especially for them, because they die there in large numbers,” said Putin – without substantiating this claim.
After the vote, many Russians fear a new mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists to fight against Ukraine. Domestically, the thumbscrews in the country could also be tightened significantly in order to stifle the protests from Putin’s opponents that were visible on the three election days.
Remarkable wave of protests
Participation in the election, which was accompanied by a remarkable wave of protests, was reported to be over 74 percent – also a record. During the vote, however, numerous cases were documented in which employees of state-owned companies were pressured to vote and in some cases even asked to photograph their completed ballot papers. Critics also complained that the online process in particular was easy to manipulate. It was also documented how masses of pre-filled ballot papers were stuffed into ballot boxes.
In addition, of the 114 million people whom Moscow called to vote, more than 4.5 million live in the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, which Russia annexed in violation of international law during the war. Elections are illegal there and are not internationally recognized.
Observers also classified the vote, which was accompanied by protests, as undemocratic because no real opposition candidates were allowed. Not only were Putin’s three competitors all aligned with the Kremlin, but they were also considered to have no chance at all from the start.
In addition, there is no freedom of assembly in Russia and the Kremlin-controlled media is in line. Independent media are politically persecuted. Dissenters who criticize Putin’s war against Ukraine or the power apparatus risk punishment and even imprisonment.
For all of these reasons, on the last day of the election, thousands of people across Russia defied the state’s attempts at intimidation and took part in a silent resistance action: at exactly 12 noon local time, they gathered in front of their respective election offices in many cities under the motto “Lunch against Putin”. They wanted to express their dissatisfaction and show that they were against the war. Although the action was peaceful and calm, at least 85 people were arrested by evening, according to civil rights activists.
There were also numerous protests abroad in front of Russian embassies and consulates. The widow of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalny, who recently died in a prison camp, appeared unexpectedly in Berlin. She also entered the embassy – and then declared that she had written her late husband’s name on the ballot paper.
Zelenskyj denies Putin any legitimacy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied Putin “any legitimacy.” “This election fraud has no legitimacy and cannot have any,” said Zelensky in his evening video address broadcast in Kiev. “This figure (Putin) must end up in the dock in The Hague – we must ensure that, everyone in the world who values life and decency.” There is an arrest warrant issued by the World Criminal Court in The Hague against Putin because of allegations of war crimes in Ukraine.
German foreign politicians also made serious allegations against Putin. “These are the least free fake elections since the end of the Soviet Union,” said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth (SPD), to the “Tagesspiegel” (Monday). “Putin’s regime has fascist and totalitarian traits.” The CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen spoke of a “farce” that serves to seemingly legitimize Putin’s war against Ukraine.