With no genuine opposition, Putin claims a landslide victory in the election and expands his control over Russia.

In an election that the Kremlin engineered to validate Putin’s leadership, the Russian leader was declared the winner with 87.3% of the vote, according to official reports released on Monday. Over 99.9% of the votes had been counted.

TFD – Discover the details of Putin’s resounding victory in Russia’s presidential election, the implications for Ukraine, and the ongoing situation in Belgorod in this comprehensive article.

With no genuine opposition, President Vladimir Putin declared a landslide victory on Monday in a stage-managed presidential election, securing an additional six years of power.

The vote was staged to validate the 71-year-old Putin’s leadership following a crackdown on dissent that has resulted in his opponents being killed, imprisoned, or sent into exile as his war in neighboring Ukraine approaches its third year of conflict. Having already held the position for 24 years, he will shortly tie Soviet leader Josef Stalin for the record of being Russia’s longest-serving head of state.

After more than 99% of the votes were counted, Russia’s election commission announced on Monday that Putin had gotten 87.3% of the vote, his highest percentage ever and far higher than the 76.69% he received in 2018. According to the commission, the turnout was 77.44%, the highest in contemporary Russian history.

Putin praised the outcome at a press conference held late on Sunday, calling it proof of the nation’s “trust” in him.

Although there have been widespread accusations of enormous fraud tainting Russian elections for years, the outcome this time was never in doubt, and the overwhelming endorsement claimed by the Kremlin will probably raise even more questions.

The “unbelievable level” of support for Putin, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, is the “best indication that all the speculation about illegal elections is actually ungrounded,” he said in an interview with NBC News in Moscow.

Among those congratulating Putin on his historic victory were the presidents of China, North Korea, and Iran. Not a single Western politician hurried to commend. Many regarded the outcomes as neither fair nor free, notably the United States, Germany, and Britain.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, charged that Putin was “addicted to power” and declared that “this imitation of elections” had no validity.

Three other names on the ballot represented parties that have long supported the goals of the Kremlin: communist Nikolai Kharitonov; nationalist Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky; and the youngest candidate, Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, who the Kremlin attempted to portray as more liberal.

However, none of them truly opposed Putin, having merely participated in his agenda and campaigned in his favor.

Former regional legislator Yekaterina Duntsova and politician Boris Nadezhdin tried to get on the ballot with an anti-war message, but authorities barred them from running.

In an effort to boost voter turnout and capitalize on a wave of enthusiasm for Putin and his war, the nation was also given the option to vote electronically over the course of three days.

The Kremlin has said that since Putin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the country has been “consolidated” around the Russian leader and his escalating conflict with the West. Putin’s popularity ratings have not decreased, but it is challenging to determine the general sentiment in Russia because individuals are frequently too terrified to express their opinions.

As part of an unprecedented crackdown on dissent not seen since the Soviet era, Russians who oppose Putin’s war and policies have faced exclusion, persecution, and forced exile.

Years of pressure and the death of its leader, Alexei Navalny, in a remote Arctic prison only weeks before the election—a murder his family, followers, and many Western politicians have termed a Kremlin-orchestrated affair—have obliterated Russia’s opposition.

Even in this climate of repression, where large-scale demonstrations are practically unheard of, Navalny, shortly before he passed away, invited citizens to demonstrate their disapproval on Sunday at noon at polling places.

Images of people waiting up outside voting places in St. Petersburg and Moscow, seemingly as part of “Noon against Putin” protests, were posted by Navalny’s team on Sunday.

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Navalny, praised her fellow citizens for their support as she cast her vote in Berlin and told reporters that she had written her late husband’s name on the ballot.

There were also more violent outbursts of rage, with state media documenting many events in which Russians threw Molotov cocktails or colored dye at voting places and ballot boxes.

The Kremlin was eager to portray a landslide victory and huge turnout as the genuine indicator of support for the direction Putin has steered his nation toward, with the military at its center, in the lack of credible alternatives and polls. Vladimir Putin urged Russians to cast their ballots on election eve, calling it a “manifestation of patriotic feelings” and a “necessary to reaffirm our unity and determination to move forward together.”

People were reluctant to discuss the election in the icy streets of Moscow before it took place, and there was little sense that anything significant was going to be decided regarding the future of the nation.

The majority said to NBC News that they would either vote for Putin or not at all.

Sergei, a Siberian lawyer, was asked how the Russian economy had fared during the conflict. He replied that he had not noticed any impact from foreign sanctions. Sergei, 42, stated, “I work harder and more diligently, that’s all.” “I have not really felt it. There is definitely something there, inflation. But this is the time we live in.”

The Russian economy’s resilience in the face of the Western sanctions has boosted Putin. Though some prices have soared and the war has added to a labor shortage, official statistics show wages have risen, too, helping to keep the war from the top of many Russians’ everyday thoughts.

Sergei expressed his belief that Russia would prevail in the conflict and come out on top.

“We will live better,” he said. “As always, we never fall into despair and hope for the best.”

The voting took place as Russian forces in Ukraine advanced on Kyiv’s army, which was being undermined by a lack of manpower and ammunition and by the waning support of the West. After months of warfare, Russia captured the practically destroyed Ukrainian village of Avdiivka, a symbolic triumph for Putin ahead of the referendum and confirmation of the warnings that less support for Kyiv would enhance the Kremlin’s influence.

Despite partial Moscow rule and ongoing front-line fighting, four Ukrainian areas that Putin annexed in late 2022 cast ballots in Russia’s presidential election for the first time.

Russia celebrates the takeover of Crimea ten years ago today, which many view as a “historic homecoming” but which is viewed by the majority of the international community as an unlawful land grab. This coincides with Putin’s resounding victory on Monday. Putin is anticipated to be present at a Red Square evening concert honoring the anniversary.

Drones from Ukraine attacked various parts of the country for many days prior to the election, while pro-Ukrainian armed organizations attempted incursions into the border districts of Kursk and Belgorod. This occurred even as Russians cast their ballots. In response to what he described as a “criminal” attempt “to disrupt the voting process and intimidate the people,” Putin pledged to exact revenge.

Belgorod’s governor was still reporting air attacks by Ukraine on Monday, resulting in causalities and damage, while the country’s defense ministry reported another incursion attempt in the region.

Belgorod’s governor was still reporting air attacks by Ukraine on Monday, resulting in causalities and damage, while the country’s defense ministry reported another incursion attempt in the region.

The governor of Belgorod continued to describe Monday’s airstrikes by Ukraine, which caused casualties and damage, while the defense minister of the nation announced yet another attempt at infiltration into the area.