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Updated 7am
VLADIMIR PUTIN IS set for another six years in power after his landslide victory in Russia’s presidential election but so far only close allies have congratulated him as Moscow’s relations with the West disintegrate.
Putin, who has ruled Russia for almost two decades, recorded his best election performance with 76.67% of the vote but rejected the possibility of staying in power indefinitely.
The opposition said the results were rigged, reporting ballot stuffing and other cases of alleged fraud as the Kremlin pushed for a high turnout to give greater legitimacy to Putin’s historic fourth term.
Putin, who has extended his power until at least 2024 and is already Russia’s longest-serving leader since Stalin, ruled out remaining president for life.
“Listen to me. It seems to me that what you are saying is a bit funny,” he told reporters when asked if he saw himself running for president again in 2030.
What, am I going to sit here until I am 100 years old? No.
The Russian strongman ran against seven other candidates, but his most vocal critic Alexei Navalny was barred from the ballot for legal reasons and the final outcome was never in doubt.
“I see in this (result) the confidence and hope of our people,” Putin said in an address to a crowd of supporters on a square next to the Kremlin after exit polls put him on track for a resounding victory.
Turnout was at more than 67% as authorities used both the carrot and the stick to boost engagement in the polls.
Selfie competitions, giveaways, food festivals and children’s entertainers were laid on at polling stations in a bid to create a festive atmosphere around the election.
But employees of state and private companies reported coming under pressure to vote.
According to central election commission data with 99.8% of ballots counted, Putin took 76.67% of the vote, well ahead of his nearest competitor Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, who was on 11.79%.
Ultra-nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky took around 5.66%, former reality TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak was on 1.67%, while veteran liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky received just over 1%.
‘Demand justice’
Navalny — who called on his supporters to boycott the “fake” vote and sent more than 33,000 observers across the country to see how official turnout figures differed from those of monitors — said there had been “unprecedented violations”.
Navalny’s opposition movement and the non-governmental election monitor Golos reported ballot stuffing, repeat voting and Putin supporters being bussed into polling stations en masse.
But the electoral commission dismissed most concerns, saying monitors sometimes misinterpret what they see.
Runner-up Grudinin said the elections had been “dishonest”.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has lived in Russia after leaking classified information about the US government’s surveillance programmes, tweeted a picture apparently showing ballot stuffing in a Russian school.
“The ballot stuffing seen today in Moscow and elsewhere in the Russian election is an effort to steal the influence of 140+ million people,” he said.
Demand justice; demand laws and courts that matter.
Xi congratulates Putin
The election was held as Russia faces increasing isolation on the world stage over a spy poisoning in Britain and a fresh round of US sanctions just as it gears up for the football World Cup in the summer.
Among the few leaders to congratulate Putin so far was Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has just been handed a second term himself and has gained a path to indefinite rule after presidential term limits were lifted last week.
“China is willing to work with Russia to keep promoting China-Russia relations to a higher level, provide driving force for respective national development in both countries, and promote regional and global peace and tranquility,” Xi said.
In Latin America, the presidents of the leftist regimes in Venezuela and Bolivia both effusively congratulated Putin on his “overwhelming” victory.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro also commended “the glorious Russian people for its display of civic duty” while Bolivia’s Evo Morales said Putin’s victory “guarantees geopolitical equilibrium and world peace before the onslaught of imperialism”.
Since first being elected president in 2000, Putin has stamped his total authority on the world’s biggest country, muzzling opposition, putting television under state control and reasserting Moscow’s standing abroad.
The 65-year-old former KGB officer used an otherwise lacklustre presidential campaign to emphasise Russia’s role as a major world power, boasting of its “invincible” new nuclear weapons in a pre-election speech.
Putin’s previous Kremlin term was marked by a crackdown on the opposition after huge protests, the Ukraine conflict, military intervention in Syria and the introduction of Western sanctions that contributed to a fall in living standards.
Nerve agent attack row
In the runup to the vote, a new crisis broke out with the West as Britain implicated Putin in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal with a Soviet-designed nerve agent.
In response, London expelled 23 Russian diplomats, prompting a tit-for-tat move by Moscow. Also this week, Washington hit Russia with sanctions for trying to influence the 2016 US election.
After his victory, Putin dismissed claims Russia was behind the poisoning in Britain as “drivel, rubbish, nonsense” but said Moscow was ready to cooperate with London in the probe.
The president has said he will use his fourth term to address a litany of domestic problems including widespread poverty and poor healthcare.
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Hardly a suprise now in fairness
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: I never saw it coming, I thought the lad from the gulag was in for sure.
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: He hasn’t yet matched the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead for longevity but at least he had challengers at election time.
Congrats!!!
Only 74%? What went wrong?
@Alan Kelly: I thought it always tended to be around 93% for the average self repeating dictat……eh, democratically elected leader
@Alan Kelly: Vlad said he wanted 70%+ so he will be happy and nobody gets an extended stay in the Siberian Arctic.
@Alan Kelly: I’m surprised it wasn’t 107%…..
@B9xiRspG: They made that mistake before in the Crimea Referendum. 105% Turnout. Even the Dead Voted..
@Alan Kelly: eh..the US hacked their election and tried to influence the outcome – they are setting up a special prosecutor for an investigation in the meddling which is going to dog Putins next term in power…or something
what a surprise, a country that murders journalists investigates corruption.
what a surprise to see cameras recording election areas were blocked out or seeing a woman block voting
@Stephen Coveney: well if Putin can interfere with the election in America think of what he can do in his own country. Even threw in the clips of block voting for self saturisation
@Billy Connelly:
sure there was even police pleading that they has grafitti the word “Putin” on walls “on their own time. ….even when they are caught leaving a police vehicle. Russia has the “lets just muddy the water or deny everything” attitude rather than being a real man and owning up
@Stephen Coveney: I get your point (I think). Putin just dosent give a fu#k does he
@Billy Connelly:
:)
i just went for it :)
he has been in power for 18 years, people who complain about him die frequently.
Its the serious question that Slovakia now have to ask.
Are we happy with a country that is stable and increases the general life quality at the expense of us turning a blind eye to corruption?
@Billy Connelly:
sorry, just read the initial post back, the grammar was poor :)
If only Russian politics was a clean fair and transparent as western nations lol!
@goon4life: Yes of only. But that would be to much to ask from a Dictator.
@goon4life:
if only people that spoke out against Putin would have better hearts, keep trying to compare both as the russian state want you to but there is no comparison. Russian electives ave shown themselves to be filth
@Stephen Coveney: You alright hun?
@goon4life: it’s so obviously not
Pity we didn’t send them our E-Voting machines……could have made a difference!!!!!
After the fall of the Soviet Union the Russians embraced capitalism with open arms, but they never quite got the hang of democracy.
@Ted Murray:
A lot of writers think that is the problem, lots of people got rich after seeing opportunities while the regular person stayed poor. Putin (as much as we know he’s corrupt) changed that, he brought everyone inline, and if you didnt you were executed. He done this not because of he wanted the people to prosper but to grow the image of Mother Russia as a power again.
@Stephen Coveney: He wanted a piece of the pie. And so did his buddies in the KGB/FSB. And the pie can only be carved up so much. So easier to kill, imprison and or exile those that have what you want.
@Mick Jordan:
to be fair i dont think Putin’s motivation is money (though he is rich beyond normal peoples means and none of his supporters seem interested?)
His motivation is Russia, he has done very well, but its built on corruption, oligarchs were the enemy but only those that didnt oppose him.
strange how friends of oligarchs that opposed him seem to have died recently
@Stephen Coveney: In the beginning it was all about the money. When he first became PM he thought it would only last a couple years and he would be out. So he began lining his pockets And hasn’t stopped since. He is estimated to have $400 Billion now. But like leaders of Drug Cartels if he leaves power he will be very limited as to where he can spend it outside Russia.
@Mick Jordan: im aware of the mansions that he owns and he cant explain his wealth. He just never struck me as motivated by money, he knew he had to keep them in line but forged the new oligarchs bit by bit.
If Russia had a free press he would have been sacked by now
@Stephen Coveney: Now it’s about the power I agree. They say having absolute power is the most potent drug of all. Once you have it you never willingly give it up.
@Ted Murray: that’s because Putin did not let them
@Stephen Coveney: it was a bit more self servicing than that. Trump and Putin have a lot in common
@Stephen Coveney: not true. His primary motivation is himself
Easy to win when you kill and arrest your opposition and control the state’s media.
@Seán Ó Briain: ireland is the same except that there is no opposition
@jon-boy55: Ireland has the same levels of democracy than Putin’s Russia? Go back to sleep mate….
One candidate, One vote, One result, so Democratic, reminds me of a particular Irish Political Party.
@James Keogh:
which one? the one who were in government until they got voted out or the other one who was in government until they got voted out?
@Stephen Coveney:
Wake up.
He means Sinn Fein.
I predict he will win by 110% of the vote
What a sham of an election , even more comical than Russian tv station et
It’s truly hillarious reading the comments here it takes brain washing to a new level.
Can anyone here really deny that Putin is overwhelming popular in Russia and would defeat any opposition candidate?
This ideological war on Russia is unjust, has it’s roots in the powerful oligarchs supported by the west he expelled and has the potential to end very badly
@Alan Farrell: Lol, so true. The spell people haver fallen under here is staggering. It seems large amounts of people cannot think for themselves these days. Do they not realise that they have been heavily influenced by western media and political bias (same things). They have become so smothered by their own sense of enlightenment that the have become just as bad or worse than what they perceive the ‘other’ side to be.
We have people on here like Tony Dowling using phrases like ‘vile creep’, how do we know that Tony is himself is not the vilest creep anybody has ever has the misfortune to set eyes upon? Either, way it just shows Tony’s shallowness.
The vitriol emanating through the words of so many people people in the so called liberal west these days is sickening and ironically it’s all done in the name of free speech and dressed up in fake morality and values. We are no longer able to produce any true liberal thinkers in a way we were previously. Why is this? Ideologies drummed into people’s minds in schools and universities has eroded true liberalism. Wake up people, don’t be afraid to think for yourselves, don’t be a herd of sheep or even more appropriately; do not be stuck in that line of lemmings walking the the edge of the cliff, oblivious to what lies on the other side. Now, time for a nice breakfast on this bank holiday Monday.
@Nick Drake: Great analysis and we’ll written Nick, the BBC soudbyte and headline from The Journal will be believed without question though.
Ah well leave them to it ha ha
@Alan Farrell: so I take it u believe that putin won in a fair and impartial election
@Nick Drake: God, what a load of nonsense. It is not illiberal to use our free speech to criticise an autocrat. In fact, it’s a defence of liberalism in the face of a corrupt, totalitarian regime.
I love how you are totally oblivious to the fact that Putin locks up the people who oppose him (if they’re lucky) – yet you’re moaning about the illiberalism of those who criticise Daddy Putin? I’m shocked that a human brain managed to formulate such a spectacularly backwards argument.
“It seems large amounts of people cannot think for themselves these days.”
Aye, indeed. When the Russian Special Forces come and kick in your doors and throw you in jail because you criticised Russian foreign policy (as has happened to multiple Russian journalists), it’s pretty hard to ‘think for yourself’.
Astounding levels of hypocrisy on show here.
@ihcalaM: Thank you for proving my point to yourself without you even knowing it.
@ihcalaM: don’t even bother with nick his head is so far up his own ass he can’t hear u, after all he the only truly liberal mind left here
@Nick Drake: I have three magic beans, willing to sell them to you at a special rate, all 3 for €600,000, interested?
@johnp: Do you have any information proving the election was unfair, if so where did you get it?
@Alan Farrell: so u don’t believe any of the multiple videos of ballot boxes being stuff, so u think it’s fair that navalny was barred from even running
@Alan Farrell: we don’t know Putin bot because Putin won’t allow a fair democratic election. Even Hitler was elected democratically at first. Putin was not
@johnp: So with 70% of the vote he had to stuff the boxes, surely a closer race would serve to make the process look more credible. It’s called popularity rarely seen in the west these days for obvious reasons.
Don’t be surprised if he is made “President for life”. He has 6 years left on this term, but he won’t step down. As the saying goes “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
@Mick Jordan: I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts a new dynasty an declares himself Tsar Vladimir, because, let’s face it, he rules Russia like a medieval absolutistic monarch, just with more ruthlessness
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: True, he sees himself as a cross between Peter the Great,Stalin and Ivan the Terrible.
@Mick Jordan: He actually thinks the worst thing that happen to Russia was the USSR collapsing shows how deluded he actually was. The amount of land area that was actually a burden on the coffers is incredible. The Ukraine with all its food and grain was the biggest loss.
@AngryDave: He still thinks of Ukraine a a vassal state that is just misguided wanting to leave the servitude of Russia.
OK, im gonna try to open a real conversation.diplomatic relations with Russia were pro
gressing until Ukraine decided to block the move for closer ties with the EU and then Russia Invaded and kept Crimea. after that no one trusted Russia cause they cant be grown ups and admit their mistakes?
@Stephen Coveney: just as bad as invading a country under false claims of WMDs….
@B9xiRspG:
Last time i checked the US didnt claim iraq as part of their territory?
Is Crimea independent or still part of Ukraine?
@B9xiRspG:
also noted that you went on a tangent from my question, I never mentioned the US but you decided to insert it…..so back to the initial point if you can. Relations were at an all time high with russian and then they invaded crimea, why cant russia admit that this is this cause of diplomatic hardship?
@Stephen Coveney: Relations went South when they invaded and annexed parts of Georgia, and when they were allowed get away fairly lightly with that the got braver and took Crimea not because of the people there bit to keep the only thing of importance to them there, the Naval Base. Without it they wouldn’t have given a crap about Crimea. And further South when they started the war in Eastern Ukraine and when they shot down MH17. Then the Litvinenko case and now this poisoning. Its time for every in the West country to seize properties, assets and bank accounts of each and everyone that is even slightly associated with the Putin regime be the Russian or not.
@Mick Jordan:
The Georgia thing went under the radar but everyone was hopeful of some sense and didnt want to act. Crimea has shown Putin to be a liar but his supporters still like him.
The Mh17 attack is still something i dont understand. Blatant lies from russian media and usual muddying the waters from russian government but really no condemnation?
@Mick Jordan: also as you said, a magnitsky act is needed everywhere
@Stephen Coveney: Most Governments accept that shooting down MH 17 wasn’t an intentional targeting of a civilian airliner. And that’s what makes the Russian lies and denials much worse. They won’t admit to it because if they did, they would then have to officially recognize that the Russian Army have invaded Eastern Ukraine. Something they deny even to this day. Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are registered as dying from “Heart Attacks” and “Strokes” or in “Training Accidents”. And any family that dispute this, lose all pension rights and are likely to face prison if they go public about it.
@Mick Jordan: the russian government will never admit to anything unless thay have already won. Its an effective strategy combined with misinformation.
They wont admit doping even with loads of evidence
Well there’s a surprise…….
More pootin’ around to look forward to. Some nerve.
Anyone who reads the BBC (for example) cannot help but notice that they really are a govt mouthpiece every article on Russia is framed within and probably approved by the UK govt. Few other outlets behave like this (apart from say Sputnik) or even RT. That said what have Western leaders to cheer about with Putin facing them down for another six years – many Western leaders won’t be around and he still will be.
@Austin Rock: That’s the thing with Dictators they do tend to retain power until they are either overthrown or die. Russia being a prime example in the past century alone. Czar Nicholas II, Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Cherninko, Andropov, Gorbachev, and now Putin. Kim Yung Un claims he was democratically elected too. Does anyone believe that either?
Easy to win elections when you have Killed, Imprisoned and or Exiled any real opposition, have total control of all TV, Radio, News Papers, Bill Boards, can determine who can have a rally and who can’t and have an army of people stuffing ballot boxes.
Sound lad that vlad
I really didn’t think he’d get in this time. Arf!! Arf!!
Strange…..why on earth would Putin want to stay in power when he should have handed over the power to younger? His victory isn’t good not only Russia but the whole world….
@Mick Jordan: he’s going to clone himself
and how that victory is made. Look at the videos https://korrespondent.net/world/russia/3950236-vybory-prezydenta-rossyy-2018-onlain
@Oleksandr Savitskyy: usual disgrace,regular citizens have been asked to monitor stations because it is a farce
Why did journal remove my link of vid of putin kissing stomach of 5 year old boy?
@Tony Dowling:
maybe it was inappropriate, maybe it broke one of their rules, stop being a moaner and post acceptable stuff
@Stephen Coveney: Bloody right it was inappropriate. Anyway its on youtube for anyone who wants to get a little insight into this vile creep.
@Tony Dowling:
dont post it so!! and dont use youtube as a source of news
@Tony Dowling: Probaly got another threat from the Russian Embassy.
@Stephen Coveney: Camera doesn’t lie. What are you suggesting, the video is falsified? Ffs.
@Tony Dowling: camera does lie!!!. Im suggesting dont use youtube as claim for truth, theres no filter and has been used for multiple hoaxs
@Stephen Coveney: pidgeon english giving you away there stephen. How is the weather in st petersberg, btw?
Twitter ia full of videos, hundreds of videos of election workers stuffing the boxes with reams full of votes.
Putin with his 76% majority must scare the shite out of western leaders like Trump, May & Merkel who just managed scraped through in their respective elections and hold onto power by their fingertips.
@Chris Kirk: haha. At least those elections are fair and free unlike putins
@Chris Kirk: Kim Jung Un won 99% of the vote too. What does that tell you? 105% of the population of Crimea voted in the referendum.
Congratulations Vlad. Take your top off
It’s an Autocratic process decided Ante-Post
I would’ve voted for him
Just another Russian oligarchs
while Europe has to feed the Russian Serfdom
@trebloc01:
Ok, you got confused , hopefully this reply get to a human
Having won 103% of the vote, according to a report leaked two weeks before the election
Trump must be itching to tweet congratulations to his friend
His epitaph will simply read
Veni,
Vidi,
Vici
Hope the blueshirts don’t adopt his election working and stick to Nazi doctern so they won’t be around and we won’t suffer another ten year of ramming new taxes down your throat and getting sweet f all in return for their waffle.
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