Putin re-elected president in 'unopposed election'

According to the election results released by the Russian election authorities, Putin received 87 percent of the votes, while his competitors Nikolai Kharitonov received 4.1 percent, Vladislav Davanko 3.8 percent and Leonid Slutsky 3.15 percent. Election officials said that 74 percent of voters participated in the election.

Critics say that in this election, in which no reliable opposition leader was barred from running in the election, President Putin got about 12 percent more votes than he did in the 2018 election.

Alexei Navalny, who was playing the role of a strong opposition in Russian politics, died in prison about a month before the election. Putin's critics and opposition leaders have been treating the death as a 'mystery'. At this time, most of the leaders who are considered critics of Putin are living in exile abroad or in Russian prisons.

According to the monitoring group OVD-Info, at least 80 Russian leaders who helped the campaign of the opposition Netah during the election have been arrested. Meanwhile, former Russian businessman and critic of the Kremlin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, confirmed that the opposition is united against the Russian ruler and urged the Western government on Monday not to recognize the victory of Vladimir Putin. In an event held at the Center for Liberal Modernity think tank, he said, 'We have high expectations for Western society and we ask that Putin not be considered legitimate.'

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Russian President Putin on his election and said that he will cooperate with him more in the future. Several Western countries have also criticized Russia's election as not being free and fair. Washington said that "by nature the elections are not free and fair". The US has noted that Putin has jailed political opponents and banned others from contesting elections against him.

Germany called it a 'fake election' conducted by an authoritarian ruler based on control, repression and violence. David Cameron, the current foreign minister of Britain, who is also a former prime minister, has condemned the "illegal elections held on Ukrainian territory".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented that "the Russian ruler has staged one more election". He insisted that Putin would do anything to rule for life. Poland said the vote was held under conditions of extreme repression and that it was impossible to choose a free and democratic option.

After the results of the election were announced, leader Putin issued a message through the Russian social network Telegram and said that he would strengthen the country's army in the coming days and prioritize "Russia's special military operations in Ukraine". He said that the results show people's confidence in Russia's current actions. As long as the Russians are united, he says, no one should intimidate or suppress them.