Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest installment of electoral theater delivered what was promised. The 71-year-old secured his sixth term in power in this weekend's presidential contest, boasting around 87 percent of votes—representing almost 76 million people—and electoral authorities claiming a turnout of more than 77 percent.
"Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead," Putin told a news conference early on Monday morning as his supporters celebrated. "But I want to make it clear for everyone: When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future."
Putin's re-coronation was always secure, but some dissent was on show.
Abroad, Russians queued for hours at embassies and consulates to cast their ballots, many of them for Vladislav Davankov, who was deemed the liberal alternative and thus the favored protest vote. Davankov, like the other candidates, was only allowed to stand with Kremlin approval. Candidates considered unpalatable were barred.
Inside Russia, a relatively small number of activists attended small protests or adopted the "noon against Putin" approach advocated by late pro-opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The politician—who died in an Arctic Penal colony in February—had called on dissidents to turn out collectively at 12 p.m. local time on Sunday to vote, at which several news outlets reported a sudden surge in people queueing at polling stations. Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, joined a noon protest at a polling station in Berlin, Germany.
Some Russians voting at domestic polling stations spoiled their ballots, others used ink to ruin other voting slips or even set light to voting machines. Several such demonstrators were reported arrested over the course of the three-day voting weekend.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Newsweek of the demonstrations: "There have been no serious protests or acts of vandalism either in Russia, or abroad—only singular cases."
"All willing observers from other countries came to the election, could monitor the process with their own eyes and obtained all the necessary information. We are not going to justify ourselves in front of anybody."
"We didn't invite ODIHR, OSCE or PACE representatives on purpose, because we regard their attempts to interfere in our internal affairs as unacceptable."
"Mr. Putin's landslide victory reflects two things: the extent of consolidation of society around the President's agenda and the scant numbers of those in opposition to him."
Callum Fraser—a Russian and Eurasian security fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think-tank in London—told Newsweek that opposition supporters "have three options: 1. Boycott the elections entirely. 2. Vote for the lesser evil, in this case Vladimir Davankov, the supposedly liberal vote. 3. Take part in the noon against Putin demonstrations and risk arrest."
"The noon against Putin protest has seen significant turnout, with the largest demonstrations taking place outside of Russia," Fraser added. "This is a clear signal that a significant part of Russian society is not content with Putin or the current state of the country."
The official results, Fraser said, are "an utter fabrication," noting that the introduction of widespread e-voting may have made it easier to massage the numbers. But the Kremlin's careful choreography does appear to have ensured an election with real—or at the very least the appearance of—mass involvement.
"The lack of observers at polling stations throughout the election weekend indicates that authorities are cautious about public support," Fraser said.
"For the Kremlin, it is still necessary to have examples of long lines and high voter turnout, so that the manipulated results are more likely to be accepted by the public. To this end, polling stations have incorporated entertainment, prize draws, and food handouts to incentivize participation in the election."
"In Ukraine's occupied territories, people are being forced to vote quite literally at gunpoint. Footage has shown soldiers accompanying polling officials to incentivize participation."
"This election has incorporated elements of overt and subtle forms of manipulation to secure strong support for Putin. This is important as this reduces the effort required in manipulating the voting data after the elections have taken place."
Few abroad will take the election results at face value, though Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela, among others, all congratulated Putin on the victory.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "This is not what free and fair elections look like." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Putin as a "dictator" who was "drunk from power."
U.S. officials have repeatedly rejected the votes held in occupied Ukrainian territories as "sham elections." State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said last week: "The United States does not and will never recognize the legitimacy or outcome of these sham elections held in sovereign Ukraine as part of Russia's presidential elections.
"We will watch the election, and I'm sure we'll have plenty to say when it concludes," Miller added.
But in Russia—where the liberal opposition is imprisoned, cowed, or has fled—the apathetic majority may be less concerned with the improbable Putin landslide.
The relatively small opposition actions there indicate that "the Kremlin is successfully coercing Russians to submit to Putin's authority through harsh societal repression, in this case transforming Russia into an increasingly fascist state," Fraser said.
"Such an imbalance may arise from the liberal exodus from Russia, leaving an overwhelming percentage of the population made up of Putin's acolytes and the apolitical majority. If this is the case, then the future of democratization in Russia is becoming increasingly unlikely."
"As of Sunday night, there has not been a significant demonstration against Putin within Russia aside from the moderate turnout for the noon against Putin demonstrations," Fraser noted.
"Overall, within Russia, activism has been limited to individual actions, while there has been a noticeable undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the election process, there has not been significant display of protest outside of isolated events. It appears that Russian opposition requires more time to mobilize greater displays of discontent within Russia."
20/3/24 6:05 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from the Kremlin.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European ... Read more
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