Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the brink of extending his reign for another six years after concluding an election on Sunday. This election offered no genuine alternatives to a leader who has harshly suppressed dissent.
The election, which started on Friday and lasted three days, was conducted in an environment where criticizing Putin or his actions in Ukraine was prohibited. Putin’s most formidable political adversary, Alexei Navalny, passed away in an Arctic prison last month. Other dissenters are either imprisoned or living in exile.
At 71 years old, Putin faced three nominal opponents from parties friendly to the Kremlin. These opponents avoided criticizing Putin’s 24-year leadership or his comprehensive invasion of Ukraine two years prior. Despite boasting about Russian military achievements before the vote, a significant Ukrainian drone attack across Russia early Sunday highlighted the challenges Moscow faces.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the interception of 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, including four near the Russian capital. However, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that these incidents resulted in no casualties or damage.
Despite severe Western sanctions, Russia’s wartime economy has shown resilience, expanding its output. The Russian defense sector has played a crucial role in this growth, continuously producing missiles, tanks, and ammunition.
Russia’s fragmented opposition encouraged those dissatisfied with Putin or the war to demonstrate their protest by voting at noon on Sunday, a move Navalny endorsed shortly before his death.
Navalny’s team hailed this strategy as a success, sharing images and videos of crowded polling stations across Russia. It remains unclear whether these crowds were responding to Navalny’s allies’ call or if they represented the typical midday voting surge.
Elections were held across Russia’s vast expanse, covering 11 time zones, including territories in Ukraine annexed illegally, and online. By early Sunday, over 60% of eligible voters had participated.
Despite strict regulations, incidents of vandalism at polling stations were reported. In St. Petersburg, a woman was arrested for hurling a firebomb at a polling station entrance, and several others were detained nationwide for tampering with ballot boxes using green antiseptic or ink.
Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s deputy in the Russian Security Council, advocated for harsher penalties for those vandalizing polling stations. He suggested they face treason charges for trying to disrupt the vote during the conflict in Ukraine.
Before the election, Putin framed the war in Ukraine, now in its third year, as a crucial battle against Western attempts to dismantle Russia. Russian forces have made gradual progress, leveraging their superior firepower, while Ukraine has retaliated with intensified border attacks and drone strikes deep into Russian territory.
A Ukrainian shelling in the city of Belgorod, near the border, resulted in the death of a 16-year-old girl on Sunday and injured her father. The local governor also reported two fatalities from Ukrainian attacks the day before.
Putin characterized these attacks as efforts by Ukraine to intimidate residents and disrupt Russia’s presidential election. He vowed that such actions “won’t be left unpunished.”
Western leaders have criticized the election, dismissing it as a mockery of democracy. The election lacked genuine choices for voters and severely restricted independent monitoring. No significant international observers attended, and only Kremlin-endorsed candidates or state-supported advisory bodies could appoint observers to polling stations, reducing the chances of independent oversight.