PRESIDENTIAL VLADIMIR PUTIN PLEBISCENT 

FOR A FIFTH MANDATE

A record for someone who had always received between 64 and 68% of the votes in previous elections.

The Russian authorities left no room for opponents of power: the three other candidates selected were all in line with the Kremlin, whether it was Ukraine or the repression which culminated in the death of Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison in February.

Beforehand, the authorities had insisted that the Russian people must be "united" behind their leader, presenting the Ukrainian conflict as hatched by the West to destroy Russia. The assault on Ukraine, launched by the master of the Kremlin in February 2022, was the backdrop to the vote, especially as attacks on Russian territory have increased this week.

Addressing Russians at the end of the evening, Vladimir Putin thanked those who went to vote and who helped create the conditions for “internal political consolidation”. “I would like to thank you all, as well as all the citizens of the country, for your support and your trust,” he told his campaign team, before promising that Russia will stand up to all its adversaries.

"It doesn't matter who wants to intimidate us or how much, it doesn't matter who wants to crush us or how much, our will or our conscience. No one has ever succeeded in doing anything like this in history. This has not worked today and will not work in the future,” said the 71-year-old president.

Enough, according to Vladimir Putin, to create the conditions for “internal political consolidation”, two years after the start of the assault against Ukraine and the adoption of unprecedented sanctions by the West.

In his speech, Vladimir Putin, who will be able to run again after this new mandate to potentially remain in power until 2036, returned to the war in Ukraine by saluting the fighting soldiers who “risk their lives” to “protect historic territories of Russia.” He estimated that the Russian forces, on the offensive since the capture of Avdiivka in mid-February against a Ukrainian army lacking men and ammunition, had “completely the initiative” on the front.

The head of the Kremlin also attacked NATO and more specifically France in a press conference following the election, raising the possibility of a widening of the war. “It is clear to everyone that this conflict between Russia and NATO will be only a step towards a full-scale third world war. I don’t think this interests anyone,” he said, declaring that “NATO soldiers are present in Ukraine, we know it (…) they are being killed and in large numbers”.

After declarations by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, opening the way to the possible sending of troops to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin sent a message to France “which only aggravates the conflict”.

He hopes "that she would rather do something to find peaceful solutions. France could play this role, all is not yet lost".