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With more than 56 million votes, it was Putin’s biggest ever win and the largest by any post-Soviet Russian leader. But the OSCE, a rights watchdog, said restrictions on fundamental freedoms, as well as on candidate registration, had restricted the scope for political engagement and crimped competition, analyses Navodita, our Associate Editor, in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths.
Vladimir Putin’s re-election as Russian President is least of all political surprises. Putin had banned most of his Opposition from running for office. However, he is genuinely popular among many Russians. The greater concern for countries like India is whether he can stem the gradual but steady decline of Russian power. Unlike most western countries, New Delhi supports a powerful, independent Russia and sees this as important to the development of a multipolar global order. Putin was able to bring an end to the post-Soviet economic chaos and gave Russians a sense of that superpower status they once had. But he was assisted by the oil price surge of the 2000s. His failure was to use this period of plenty to invest in Russia’s aging industrial plant, funnel his people’s intellectual abilities into high-technology sectors and otherwise lay the seeds for a sustained Russia revival.
With more than 56 million votes, it was Putin’s biggest ever win and the largest by any post-Soviet Russian leader. But the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a rights watchdog, said restrictions on fundamental freedoms, as well as on candidate registration, had restricted the scope for political engagement and crimped competition. Putin faced no credible threat from a field of seven challengers. His nearest rival, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, won 11.8% while nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky got 5.6%. His most vocal opponent, anti-corruption campaigner, Alexei Navalny, was barred from running. Mr. Navalny, who had called on voters to boycott the election, urged his supporters not to lose heart and said his campaign had succeeded in lowering the turnout, accusing authorities of being forced to falsify the numbers. Although Mr. Putin has six years to consider a possible successor, uncertainty about his future is a potential source of instability in a fractious ruling elite that only he can keep in check.
However, the results come at a time that Russia stands increasingly isolated internationally. This began with Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and continued as Ukraine and Syria progressed. About 10 million more Russians voted for Putin this year than they did in 2012. Turnout was the highest in the North Caucasus- at more than 90 % – and lowest in Chechnya, at 35%. Crimea overwhelmingly voted for Putin- more than 92% of the region cast its vote in his favour. Incentives were offered to voters to boost turnout- this included giveaways, food festivals & children’s programmes. State employees reported pressure from above to vote. Putin is already Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. However, he dismissed the idea of staying in power for life.
©Navodita Pande
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