Vladimir Putin tightened his grip on power, claiming another six-year term as Russian president after a brutally distorted election in which all serious challengers were wiped out before voting began.
The result more than met the objective of an overwhelming victory to buttress Putin’s claim that Russians wholeheartedly back their leader and his invasion of Ukraine.
The election campaign, which saw three other candidates refrain from criticizing the president, was overshadowed by the death last month of Putin’s key opponent, Alexei Navalny.
Unusually large crowds were seen at polling stations across Russia, from the smallest Siberian towns to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as at Russian embassies and consulates worldwide — from Phuket to Paris and Brussels.
“This is a great opportunity to create the appearance that there are people who are not satisfied with the current state of affairs, who are willing to unite for collective action, and there are many of them,” — said Daniel, who voted in the Russian consulate in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Ekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin — two potential candidates who advocated for immediate peace negotiations and an end to the war — were barred from running against Putin in the contest.
The original article contains 720 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Vladimir Putin tightened his grip on power, claiming another six-year term as Russian president after a brutally distorted election in which all serious challengers were wiped out before voting began.
The result more than met the objective of an overwhelming victory to buttress Putin’s claim that Russians wholeheartedly back their leader and his invasion of Ukraine.
The election campaign, which saw three other candidates refrain from criticizing the president, was overshadowed by the death last month of Putin’s key opponent, Alexei Navalny.
Unusually large crowds were seen at polling stations across Russia, from the smallest Siberian towns to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as at Russian embassies and consulates worldwide — from Phuket to Paris and Brussels.
“This is a great opportunity to create the appearance that there are people who are not satisfied with the current state of affairs, who are willing to unite for collective action, and there are many of them,” — said Daniel, who voted in the Russian consulate in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Ekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin — two potential candidates who advocated for immediate peace negotiations and an end to the war — were barred from running against Putin in the contest.
The original article contains 720 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!