Vladimir Putin Claims Landslide Russian Election Victory

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Russia's Vladimir Putin clinched another six-year term in office after winning a record post-Soviet landslide in the presidential election on Sunday.1
  • According to the Russian Central Election Commission, Putin had secured nearly 87.3% of the vote after all ballots had been counted on Monday. Turnout was 77.5% of the electorate, the highest in the country's modern history.2
  • Communist Party candidate Nikolay Kharitonov finished second with 4.32% of the vote, while the New People party's Vladislav Davankov came third with 3.79%.3
  • In his Moscow victory speech, the former KGB agent who rose to power after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin in 1999 declared that this outcome shows public support for his operation in Ukraine — despite alleged attempts to intimidate Russia.4
  • By 2029, Putin will become the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin. He is eligible to rule until 2036 under constitutional changes approved in 2020 that allowed him to seek two more six-year terms.5
  • Russians had three days to vote across the country, including in Russian-controlled disputed territories. At least 80 people were reportedly arrested in multiple cities for protest actions in connection with the elections.6

Sources: 1Reuters, 2China Daily, 3TASS, 4Al Jazeera, 5The Guardian and 6France 24.

Narratives

  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT. Putin's historic win in the Russian presidential election shows that the whole nation stands united with its leader, sending a strong message to the West — which has ferociously fought with Moscow — that the Russian president will always have his people's full support, whether in war or peace. The display of Russian unity is the best sign that all the speculation about illegal elections is actually ungrounded.
  • Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by CNN. This pseudo-election has neither been free and fair nor democratic. With the Kremlin tightly controlling Russia's media and political system, there was never a level playing field. Under an authoritarian ruler — who removed his real challengers from the political landscape through censorship, repression, and murder — Russians had no credible alternative than to vote in an illegal election and forcibly hand over the country's reins to a dictator.

Predictions