Putin and his 'opponents' go out to Red Square to celebrate the anniversary of the Russian annexation of Crimea

The Russian president, Vladimir Putincelebrated his overwhelming electoral victory on Monday and, at the same time, commemorated the tenth anniversary of the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea, a precursor to the current war in Ukraine. Putin admitted today that his great result in the presidential elections is closely linked to the fact that “at the moment” he is the supreme commander of an army that has been fighting for two years in the neighboring country.

The United States and the European Union strongly criticized the cleanliness of the elections, but refrained from not recognizing Putin's electoral victory, despite the insistence of the opposition in exile, reports Efe.

Mass bath

Putin, who will surpass Stalin in longevity at the helm of the country if he remains in the Kremlin until 2030, decided to take a mass bath in Red Square, where tens of thousands of people were attending a rally-concert. “Crimea is not only an important territory from a strategic point of view, it is not only our history, our tradition (…) Crimea is mainly its people: the Crimeans and inhabitants of Sevastopol. They are our pride!“, he claimed.

He recalled that Crimea is known as “an indestructible aircraft carrier” and that the inhabitants of the peninsula never forgot their historical ties with Mother Russia, despite the fact that since 1954 they belonged to Ukraine. Additionally, she had words for the residents of the four annexed regions by Russia (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia), whose fate, he admitted, is much more difficult and “tragic.”

“But, still, we achieved it and that is also a great milestone in the history of our State. Now we move forward and we go together, shoulder to shoulder,” he proclaimed. Crimea returned to the Russian fold after the 96.5% of its inhabitants will support joining the Russian Federation in a referendumcondemned by most of the international community, and that Putin signed the corresponding bilateral treaty exactly ten years ago in a ceremony in the Kremlin.

Unappealable victory

In his first public appearance, Putin met in the Kremlin with the three candidates he faced in the elections, seen by all analysts and by the Russians themselves as stone guests, whom he asked to join the common cause of final victory. Shortly before, the Central Election Commission announced the end of the vote, under which Putin was re-elected for a fifth six-year term with the 87.28% of the votes.

In second place was the communist Nikolai Kharitonov (4.31%), followed by the Gente Nueva candidate, Vladislav Davankov (3.85%), while the fourth and last position went to the ultranationalist Leonid Slutsky (3.2%). The head of the Kremlin obtained a total of 76.2 million votes in elections that were held over three days and that recorded the greater citizen participation (77.44%) in the eight presidential elections that have been held in the history of Russia since 1991.

[La UE denuncia que la reelección de Putin “no ha sido libre ni justa” y se basa en la “represión”]

“It is a truly exceptional for the president Putin,” said Dmitri Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, who stressed that this “absolute victory” is a confirmation of popular approval of his policy, considered militaristic by his critics.

The opposition denounces fraud

However, the opposition in exile, which accuses Putin of ordering the murder of the opposition leader in prison, Alexei Navalny, did not believe the results. “What happened in the last three days? Massive falsification. They can announce the number they want. They got many fewer votes. Golos, the independent electoral observation organization, was sidelined. And electronic voting is uncontrollable,” he told Efe the opponent Dmitri Gudkovin telephone conversation.

[Putin dice que aprobó el canje de Navalny pero “murió”: “Es triste, estas cosas pasan, así es la vida”]

Gudkov, who was declared wanted in December 2023, accused the electoral commission of “draw” the figures, the expression used in Russian for the manipulation of results and statistics. “Everyone saw on the Internet on Sunday how many people are against Putin,” he said, referring to the thousands of people who participated in the opposition action. “Noon against Putin” when going to the polling stations at 12:00.

Regarding the joy shown by Putin after the victory at the polls, he assured that Not even the president believed the result and he only “pretended” in front of the cameras. And he predicted that the Russian leader “will tighten the nuts even more” of repression in the coming months and will open the debate on the need for a new mobilization of men to fuel the war machine in Ukraine.