According to observers, the first part of the results had already confirmed that the election was “fixed from the start”, which was often criticized as staged. After nearly half the votes were counted, Putin had 87.3 percent, the Central Election Commission said. This preliminary result was ten percentage points higher than Putin's 2018 election result (76.7 percent).
Putin's official opponents are the communist Nikolai Kharidonov and Leonid Slusky, head of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People's Party. In this context, the audience repeatedly talked about the Kremlin puppets. Two other candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Dunsova, were disqualified as candidates by the Election Commission. Alexei Navalny, the most popular opposition figure, died in a Russian prison camp a few weeks ago.
“We are a united team”
In his first reaction on Sunday, Putin thanked his compatriots for taking part in the presidential election. “We are a united team, all Russian citizens who came to the polls and voted,” Putin said with his campaign team in a speech broadcast on state television.
His election victory shows that the current path is the right one. Russia can now become stronger and more efficient. He will “unify” society, and then no one will oppress Russia. He is confident that all goals will be achieved.
“Unfortunately, what happened,” Putin said of Navalny's death. Putin confirmed for the first time that the now-deceased Kremlin critic was to be exchanged — and that he had already approved the exchange.
Also a new record has been announced for the number of voters
The vote was also overshadowed by Putin's war on Ukraine, which he repeatedly portrays as a fight against NATO and the West's desire for hegemony. Regarding the developments in Ukraine, Putin said that Russian forces are advancing every day. However, the army needs to be strengthened.
In the occupied territories and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, people also voted in elections that Putin's opponents criticized as a farce.
The number of eligible voters was given as 114 million people. The reported voter turnout of over 74 percent was a record: the highest ever in a Russian presidential election.
Schneider (ORF) about elections in Russia.
ORF correspondent Carola Schneider reports from Moscow on the course of the presidential election in Russia.
Formal fraud reports
Independent observers pointed to systematic fraud behind the reported high voter turnout. Since the first day of voting on Friday, a number of cases have been registered in which employees of state-owned enterprises were forced to vote and in some cases had to take photographs as proof of their completed ballots. Critics also complain that the online voting process, which is used by about 8 million people according to the Election Commission, is easily manipulated.
Observers documented large numbers of pre-filled ballots stuffed into ballot boxes. Navalny confidant Leonid Volkov eventually criticized the numbers announced by the election commission as “fantasy”. As reported by Volgo Telegram, these “clearly have no relation to reality”.
Long queues as a symbol of struggle
The vote for Putin's fifth term in office, orchestrated with a heavy hand by Russia's power apparatus, was accompanied by a significant wave of protests on Sunday. Despite the authorities' attempts at intimidation, many opponents of Russia's long-time president gathered in front of polling stations around 12pm on Sunday to show their displeasure at Putin's re-election, which the opposition characterized as anti-democratic.
Members of the opposition, including the team of Kremlin dissident Navalny, who recently died in a prison camp, called for action under the slogan “lunch against Putin”. Boris Nadeshtin, an opposition politician excluded from the presidential election, also took part in the peaceful protest. The demonstration was accompanied by arrests – at least 74 people across Russia have been detained at least temporarily, the civil rights portal OVD-Info reported Sunday afternoon.
Navalnaya at the Russian Embassy in Berlin
Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, also called for participation in the protest. He joined the front line at the Russian embassy in Berlin, where he cast his vote just after 6 p.m. She wrote Navalny's name on the ballot, as Navalnaya said after leaving the embassy.
In several cities, including Salzburg and Vienna, there were long lines in front of Russia's embassies and consulates on Sunday. “This is actually a demonstration, because without the call for a 'lunch against Putin' campaign there wouldn't be such a row here,” Russian political scientist Kirill Rokov said in front of the Russian embassy in Vienna – more about it at salzburg.ORF.at and in wien.ORF.at .
In power since 1999
Putin has alternately ruled as president and prime minister since 1999, more than any other politician in Moscow since Joseph Stalin. The Soviet dictator died in 1953 after 29 years in power. Thanks to a constitutional change, Putin could serve another six years in office in 2030.
Putin is now likely to present the election victory as confirmation of his anti-Western and authoritarian tendencies. With this support, which critics say is due to repression and coercion, observers expect him to significantly increase his foreign policy in a war of aggression against Ukraine over the next six years.
The life of Vladimir Putin
An overview of the life and political career of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Among other things, there are fears that hundreds of thousands of reservationists will be mobilized again. Domestically, the country's thumb screws could be tightened significantly to prevent protests by Putin's opponents that could be seen in the three election days. Tax increases are announced to finance higher spending on war and social policy programs.
