Russia’s head of state, in power for more than two decades, is assured of victory in the weekend’s elections, which will result in a six-year term. The Kremlin claims the vote will show that society supports the offensive in Ukraine.
“I am convinced that you understand the difficult period our country is going through, the difficult challenges we face in practically all areas,” Putin said in a speech shown on Russian public television.
“I ask you to come out to vote and express your civic and patriotic position, to vote for the candidate of your choice, for the future of our beloved Russia,” he insisted. “Participating in elections means demonstrating patriotic feelings,” she highlighted.
Putin has three opponents of little relevance, who do not express opposition to the offensive in Ukraine or the harsh repression against dissidents, which resulted in the death in prison, in February, of the Kremlin’s main critic, Alexei Navalny.
The Russian economy, affected by international sanctions, resisted, but had to be reoriented towards the war effort and military industry.
Moscow imagined that the attack against Ukraine would last a few days or perhaps weeks, but the conflict has just completed two years.
When talking about the battlefront, Putin presents recent achievements, in particular the seizure of the town of Avdiivka in February, as proof that the “special military operation” – the terms imposed by the Kremlin – is on track, despite the significant number of casualties, a topic that the government does not comment on.
The presidential elections begin with the opening of polling stations in Russia’s far east at 8 am local time on Friday and will end in Kaliningrad on Sunday at 8 pm local time.
In Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia, early voting began in the last days of February.
Kremlin critics do not participate in elections. The only real opponent who tried to register his candidacy, Boris Nadezhdin, was vetoed by the Election Commission.
The opposition was completely decimated after the arrest of several dissidents and the repression that forced several of them into exile. With Navalny’s death at age 47, the movement lost its main representative.
The Russian authorities announced a death from natural causes, but the opposition team reports a murder.
Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who lives in exile and promised to continue her husband’s fight, appealed to Russians to protest during the elections: she asked everyone to go to the polls at noon on Sunday to vote for any candidate, except Putin.
The wives of Russian soldiers sent to the war in Ukraine, who are calling for the soldiers to return, joined the appeal.
No one has any doubts that Putin will be re-elected. The vote will allow him to remain in power until 2030 and, after a constitutional reform, he will be able to be a candidate again and remain in charge of the country until 2036, at the age of 84.
