There are almost non existent diplomatic bridges with the EU, UK and US, and back home there’s this fear of nationwide protests from 2021 doing a repeat.
It’s been a good week for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Exactly as expected by the Russian government, as predicted by its state media and as feared by most of the West.
The 71-year-old won by a landslide margin of 87.97 per cent of the votes and secured himself another term of six years, making him Russia’s longest-serving leader in more than 200 years. “Warm congratulations,” followed by India, while Syria, China, Iran and North Korea have also backed the results.
So far, so good.
However, while Putin’s fifth term as the Russian President was never in doubt, his position as a world leader will increasingly be.
Ironically, the former KGB lieutenant colonel faced no credible opposition back home and hardly any credible support on the global platform, with Germany calling the process, “a pseudo election,” and the US losing no time to declare the vote as, “obviously not free nor fair.”
A day after the win, the EU said in a statement that the vote, in which Putin won, “took place in a highly restricted environment.”
While the UK foreign secretary David Cameron minced no words, when he said, “Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.”
Cameron clearly referred to Putin’s one and only opponent Alexei Navalny who died in prison only a month ago. The 47-year-old lawyer and anti-corruption activist was recognised as the only formidable challenge for Putin.
In 2018, Navalny was barred from running for elections on what is widely believed to be “politically motivated” charges of extremism and corruption.
After the attempt on Navalny’s life was made on a plane in 2020, the incident made it to headlines across the world. Despite being poisoned with a “Russian nerve agent”, Nalanvy survived after spending three weeks on a ventilator.
The allegations grew louder over how Putin’s opponents either die, go to jail or disappear under mysterious circumstances. However, Putin had an answer ready for the American press. “Look at the American streets, people are getting killed there, including those who are leading the various political organisations,” he said to the US press in June 2021 when questioned about his opponents being removed.
When specifically questioned about his greatest critic Navalny, Putin drew parallels to Black Lives Matter movement.
But after claiming the win, Putin has been more nonchalant in his response pertaining to Navalny. “It happens. There is nothing you can do about it. It’s life,” he said in his first comments to address Navalny’s demise.
Putin also briefly addressed thousands of people in Moscow’s Red Square and called on to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.
But even in his win, Putin finds himself surrounded more by conspiracy theories and speculations rather than the celebrations.
For years’ now his health has been a subject of speculation, with most recent reports claiming he is battling Parkinson’s and cancer both.
Navalny, the slain leader, has done as much damage to Putin in his death, as when he was alive. Sparking off nationwide protests in 2021, when millions took to streets, and casting a shadow over his win.
The Golos movement, an independent group monitoring elections in Russia, has dismissed the outcome of the latest elections as, “failing to perform its main function.”
Putin may have won but it will be difficult to be considered a winner. And this time it’s going to take more than deflection, or redirection of the question for Putin to answer on why his opponents are always removed.
And it will certainly take longer explanations than “It happens,” to address Navalny’s death which will politically haunt him for a long time to come
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