According to the official results, Putin received more than 92 percent of votes in Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine by Russian Federation four years ago, on March 18, 2014.
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Putin, a former KGB spy, has dominated Russian politics for 18 years and the 65-year-old was already the country’s longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cemented his position in power at the Kremlin by winning what early results indicated will be his largest-ever victory. And what’s next for Russian Federation? Putin has promised to use his new term to beef up Russia’s defences against the West and to raise living standards.
About 107 million Russians were eligible to cast ballots and the central election commission said turnout was 60 percent, after the authorities used both the carrot and the stick to boost participation.
Putin, who will turn 72 in 2024, could decide to leave the Kremlin after 24 years in power, making way for a successor.
In other regions of the Far Eastern Federal District (DFO) Grudinin’s result varies between 14-17%, excluding the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, where this candidate scored 5.86% of the votes.
Russia goes to the polls only days after the USA widened its sanctions against Moscow due to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Kremlin had aimed for a turnout of more than 70% to cement its legitimacy, but the election period was muted and marked by a sense of voter apathy.
He has deployed more than 30,000 observers to monitor the polls and on Sunday, his team – which calls the vote “a staged procedure to re-appoint Putin” – began publishing a rolling list of violations from polling stations.
Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, alleged Kremlin meddling in the USA presidential election, and Moscow’s bombing campaign in Syria, have been condemned in the West.
When she hadn’t voted by midday, “The chief of my unit called me and said I was the only one who hadn’t voted”, said the doctor, Yekaterina, who spoke on condition her last name not be used because she also feared repercussions.
Putin’s most vehement foe, anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, was barred from running Sunday because he was convicted of fraud in a case widely regarded as politically motivated.
Navalny, 41, has denounced the election as a sham and urged Russians to boycott the vote.
“I, therefore, ask you to come to the polling stations on Sunday, use your right to choose a future for the great Russian Federation that we love”.
“He (Putin) is our president”.
In his first public comments about the nerve agent attack, the Russian President said Moscow was ready to cooperate with the British Government on the investigation.
Officials and analysts say there is little agreement among Putin’s top policymakers on an economic strategy for his new term.
The election took place on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which provoked global criticism but boosted Putin’s popularity at home.
In addition to accusing Putin, the United Kingdom expelled the largest number of Russian diplomats from London in 30 years.
They gathered widespread examples of apparent voting violations in Sunday’s vote, but it’s unlikely to seriously damage Putin given his widespread support.
Surprising no one, Vladimir Putin sailed to a win in Russia’s presidential election, securing his fourth term in office.
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The Russian strongman could revisit his move from 2008, which saw him put forward Dmitry Medvedev as president while he himself became prime minister before returning to the Kremlin in 2012.
