Editorial: Bent as a sickle, hard as a hammer

RUSSIA: In a foregone conclusion, President Vladimir Putin sealed his control over embattled Russia for six more years — thanks to a tightly orchestrated landslide that followed the harshest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times. Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999, a period marked by military aggression and rising intolerance for dissent. At the end of his fifth term, Putin would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great, who ruled during the 18th century.

With nearly 100% of precincts counted, Putin bagged 87% of the votes, with 76 million voters casting their ballots in Putin’s favour, his highest vote tally ever. In the past, the Kremlin has allowed opposition candidates to run against Putin, but no one who would have a chance of winning. This time around, Moscow took it a step further: There were two candidates who professed anti-war sentiments and the rules were stacked in a manner that they couldn’t compete at all. Two other candidates were sure they couldn’t hold a candle to Putin and ended up endorsing him.

While monitoring of the poll was limited, any criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been stifled with an iron fist. Independent media in the country is paralysed, and his fiercest critic, Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison last month. Last year, the Kremlin witnessed a mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Wagner Group, who later died in a plane crash. Putin’s other critics are either imprisoned or in exile.

Putin’s closest allies, the leaders of China and North Korea congratulated the strongman for retaining his vice-like grip. New Delhi is also cognizant about the side of its bread that is buttered, especially in the backdrop of discounted oil purchases from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. So it was no surprise that PM Modi extended his greetings on the re-election.

Western leaders, on the other hand, denounced the re-ascension as a farce. But the smart alec turned the tables on his detractors charging that the four criminal cases against US Republican candidate Donald Trump were a use of the judiciary for political aims. It’s an interesting name drop as during his presidency, Trump was in the dock on charges of colluding with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 US elections.

It begs the question — why did Putin even bother holding an election? Experts point out that it was not an election, but a referendum i.e. do you support Putin or not. The Kremlin was keen on showcasing the Russian people’s support for their leader, the war in Ukraine, which has now entered its third year. Sadly, the citizens could be staring at increased taxes to fill the war chest, and possibly an increase in military conscriptions.

Having said that, Putin’s new-found reliance on his Asian allies is helping him tide over the sanctions placed by US and EU upon Moscow on account of the invasion. Alpha posturing aside, Putin might also be pinning his hopes for a possible landslide for Trump in the US elections, since the real estate mogul has been vocal about not wasting a penny of American taxpayer dollars to militarily support Ukraine. Putin probably summed up everyone’s fears when probed about the possibility of a conflict between Russia and Nato. In his victory speech, he said, “It’s just a step away from World War III.”