Exit polls revealed on Sunday that Vladimir Putin has clinched another six-year term as the president of Russia, positioning himself to become the longest-serving Russian leader in over two centuries.
With his major opponents either deceased, incarcerated, or in exile, Putin’s victory was anticipated, accentuated by an unyielding crackdown on dissenters against the Kremlin or its military actions in Ukraine.
According to the government-run VTsIOM pollster, Putin garnered an overwhelming 87 percent of the vote after polls closed in Kaliningrad, Russia’s western-most region on the Baltic Sea.
The three-day election unfolded amidst a backdrop of heightened Ukrainian assaults, infiltrations into Russian territory by pro-Kyiv sabotage groups, and instances of vandalism at polling stations.
Portrayed by the Kremlin as a pivotal moment to rally behind the military campaign in Ukraine, the election coincided with voting in territories under Russian control, drawing criticism from Kyiv and its allies who denounced the process as fraudulent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Putin as a “dictator” intoxicated by power, accusing him of committing any atrocity to perpetuate his reign.
In a social media post, Zelensky stated, “There is no evil he will not commit to prolong his personal power.”
