President Vladimir Putin achieved a historic victory in Russia’s election on Sunday 17 March 2024, solidifying his already strong hold on power. The newly elected president said that this victory validated Moscow’s decision to confront the West and deploy its military forces in Ukraine. Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who assumed office in 1999, explicitly stated that the outcome should convey a message to Western nations that their leaders will face a strengthened Russia, whether in conflict or in tranquilly, for an extended period. If President Putin successfully completes his upcoming six-year term, he will surpass Josef Stalin in terms of tenure and have held the position of Russia’s leader for a period exceeding 200 years. According to an exit poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), President Putin achieved a remarkable 87.8% of the vote, marking the most favourable outcome in the history of Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Putin received a score of 87% from the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM). The initial official findings confirmed the accuracy of the surveys.

The United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom are among the nations that assert that the voting process lacked freedom and fairness due to the incarceration of political adversaries and the censorship of information. The partial tally of results indicated that Nikolai Kharitonov, the candidate affiliated with the Communist party, secured the second position with a marginally smaller proportion of votes. Vladislav Davankov, a recent addition, secured the third position, while Leonid Slutsky, an ultra-nationalist, secured the fourth position. During a victory speech delivered in Moscow, President Putin expressed his commitment to addressing the challenges related to Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and emphasised his intention to enhance the capabilities of the Russian military. Numerous duties lie ahead of us.

“However, once we are united and united, regardless of any attempts to intimidate or suppress us, no one has ever achieved success in history, nor will they ever succeed in the future,” stated Putin.

Partial results indicated that the Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured the second position with a slightly lower percentage of votes, followed by the newcomer Vladislav Davankov in third place, and the ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky in fourth place. During a victory speech delivered in Moscow, President Putin expressed his commitment to addressing the challenges related to Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and emphasised his intention to enhance the capabilities of the Russian military.

Numerous duties lie ahead of us. “However, once we are united and united, regardless of any attempts to intimidate or suppress us, no one has ever achieved success in history, nor will they ever succeed in the future,” stated Putin. In his initial remarks after his demise, he also expressed that Navalny’s demise was indeed a “sad event” and affirmed his willingness to engage in a prisoner exchange including the opposition figure. When asked by a United States-based news channel about the democratic nature of his re-election, Putin expressed disapproval of the political and judicial institutions in the United States. “The global community is deriding the current situation in the United States,” he stated. “This is merely a catastrophe, not a democratic arrangement.”  He inquired about the democratic nature of utilizing administrative resources to target a presidential candidate in the United States and use the judiciary as a means of attack, among other tactics. This inquiry seemingly alludes to four criminal proceedings involving Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The Russian election occurred little more than two years subsequent to President Putin’s instigation of the most lethal European conflict since World War Two with his directive to invade Ukraine. The three-day election has been marred by a state of war, as Ukraine has engaged in many acts of aggression against oil refineries in Russia, shelled Russian territories, and attempted to breach Russian borders through the deployment of proxy forces. President Putin has expressed his intention to retaliate against these actions.

Putin highlighted the possibility of Russia establishing a buffer zone within Ukraine as a preventive measure against future aggression.

Despite the certainty of Putin’s re-election due to his extensive control over Russia and the lack of significant contenders, the former KGB spy sought to demonstrate the substantial backing he received from the Russian populace. According to election officials, the nationwide turnout reached 74.22% at 1800 GMT at the closure of voting, above the levels observed in 2018 at 67.5%. The participation of Russia’s 114 million voters in the opposition marches, amidst stringent security measures involving a substantial number of police and security personnel, lacked an impartial tally. Journalists observed a surge in voter turnout, particularly among the younger demographic, during midday hours at polling stations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg.

These stations experienced waits consisting of several hundred individuals, and in some cases, even thousands of people.  There were individuals who claimed to be engaged in protest, despite the absence of conspicuous indicators that would differentiate them from regular voters. According to OVD-Info, a monitoring group focused on opposition crackdowns, a minimum of 74 individuals were apprehended around Russia on Sunday.  During the preceding 48 hours, sporadic instances of protest were observed, when certain individuals from Russia engaged in acts of arson against voting booths or poured green dye into ballot boxes. Critics shared images of ballots tainted with derogatory phrases against Putin.

However, the demise of Navalny has resulted in the opposition being deprived of its most formidable leader, while other prominent opposition activists are either located overseas, incarcerated, or deceased. Putin is portrayed by the West as an authoritarian and a murderer.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his belief that President Putin aspires to maintain perpetual rule and argued that the recent election was deemed fraudulent. Putin depicts the war as a long-standing conflict with a deteriorating Western world that he claims caused Russia embarrassment following the Cold War by intruding into Moscow’s area of influence.  Western intelligence leaders perceive the next election in Russia as a critical juncture for the Ukraine conflict and the broader Western world. The endorsement of Ukraine is intricately intertwined with domestic politics in the United States before the next November presidential election. Despite Kyiv’s successful territorial return following the invasion in 2022, Russian forces had managed to make advancements after an unsuccessful Ukrainian counter-offensive in the preceding year.