Russia began three days of voting on Friday in a presidential election that is anticipated to extend Vladimir Putin’s rule by an additional six years.
Two years into the war in Ukraine, Putin dominates Russia’s political landscape. None of the other three candidates on the ballot paper present any credible challenge.
The Kremlin says that Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, will win because he commands support across society. This support is due to his role in rescuing Russia from post-Soviet chaos and standing up to the West.
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s best-known opposition politician, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony last month. Other critics of the Kremlin are either exiled or in jail. According to the opposition, the vote is a sham.
More than 114 million Russians are eligible to vote. This includes those in what Moscow refers to as its ‘new territories’—four regions of Ukraine that are only partly under its control but which it has claimed as part of Russia. Ukraine, however, declares the staging of elections there illegal and void.
Putin is running against Communist Nikolay Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party. Two anti-war candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, were barred from running by the electoral commission due to the alleged irregularities in their paperwork.
Navalny’s supporters have urged Russians to protest by voting simultaneously at noon on Sunday in all 11 time zones.
The ‘Noon Against Putin’ initiative, presented as a risk-free form of protest where people queue to vote legally, has been met with warnings from the Kremlin against participation in unauthorized gatherings.
If Putin, 71, completes a new six-year term, he will surpass Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
Under the constitutional amendments approved by voters in 2020, Putin could potentially extend his rule to 2036 by running for office again.
The Kremlin says that Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, will win because he commands support across society. This support is due to his role in rescuing Russia from post-Soviet chaos and standing up to the West.
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s best-known opposition politician, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony last month. Other critics of the Kremlin are either exiled or in jail. According to the opposition, the vote is a sham.
More than 114 million Russians are eligible to vote. This includes those in what Moscow refers to as its ‘new territories’—four regions of Ukraine that are only partly under its control but which it has claimed as part of Russia. Ukraine, however, declares the staging of elections there illegal and void.
Putin is running against Communist Nikolay Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party. Two anti-war candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, were barred from running by the electoral commission due to the alleged irregularities in their paperwork.
Navalny’s supporters have urged Russians to protest by voting simultaneously at noon on Sunday in all 11 time zones.
The ‘Noon Against Putin’ initiative, presented as a risk-free form of protest where people queue to vote legally, has been met with warnings from the Kremlin against participation in unauthorized gatherings.
If Putin, 71, completes a new six-year term, he will surpass Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
Under the constitutional amendments approved by voters in 2020, Putin could potentially extend his rule to 2036 by running for office again.
Source: Reuters
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