The Russian presidential election was not expected to be a cliffhanger. The victory of incumbent President Vladimir Putin was very much ensured by the absence of registered candidates who could truly challenge his re-election. Yet it is an important milestone which marks another six years of Putin – the most militant and aggressive version of him – in charge of Russia.The Kremlin framed what essentially is the incumbent’s self-reappointment as a plebiscite on the war in Ukraine – a carefully choreographed performance aimed at convincing both Russian and Western audiences that an overwhelming majority of Russians stand behind the regime’s effort to defeat Ukraine and undermine the West. In his post-election news conference late on Sunday, Putin said that people came to the polls in large numbers in order “to create conditions for internal political consolidation”.On the eve of the election, Kremlin sources were telling various Russian independent media outlets that the need to demonstrate national unity prompted the presidential administration to set the unprecedented target of achieving 80 percent of votes in Putin’s favour. The end result was even higher – more than 87 percent.
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