In his first statement on the election results, President Vladimir Putin says that Russia must become stronger and more effective. At the same time, he thanks Russian soldiers.
– The election shows that Russia has chosen the right path, he said in his victory speech on state television on Sunday evening. According to the preliminary results, he is likely to be re-elected with 88 percent of the vote.
In his speech, Putin thanked all Russians who came to vote, and he especially thanked Russian soldiers.
– No one can ever suppress Russia when we stand together. We are one, united family, he said to cheers from his supporters.
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Foretells punishment
Putin also warned of legal consequences for people who destroyed their ballots in this weekend’s election.
– People who destroyed their ballots – this type of people must be taken care of, Putin said after his victory speech.
Russian opposition had called on people to show up at polling stations at midday on Sunday to protest, but Putin says this protest action had “no effect”.
Already on the first day of the election, several Russians chose to protest physically – one person threw a firebomb, a so-called Molotov cocktail, at a polling station in St. Petersburg. In Moscow, a woman poured liquid liquid into a ballot box in a polling station, and in other regions, people poured dye into the ballot boxes, while a woman set a ballot box on fire. Another person lit fireworks inside a polling station.
Will consider ceasefire talks
The Russian president also said he is open to talks about a ceasefire during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
He says that Russia must take into account its interests on the front line in Ukraine, but that it will consider a ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron told a Ukrainian journalist on Saturday that he would call for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war during the Games.
Six new years
The Russian presidential election was no nail-biter, Putin is heading for a clear victory. The choice is met with harsh criticism from large parts of the world community.
As soon as the last polling stations had closed, Vladimir Putin was declared the election winner by several Russian news media. The incumbent president looks set to win by record numbers.
With a quarter of the votes counted, Putin leads with 88 percent. Putin has never had such a large margin of victory. It is expected that the final result will come on Monday.
Putin has been in power since 1999 and with this result is guaranteed six more years.
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Queue protest
The election was not without controversy. During the election campaign, Alexei Navalny died in Russian captivity. He was one of Putin’s biggest critics and opposition opponents.
Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya was among those who urged voters to take part in a “queue protest”. The purpose of the campaign was to show up at exactly 12 o’clock on Sunday to flood the polling stations.
Navalnaya herself voted at the Russian embassy in Berlin, and could reveal that she did not vote for Putin.
– Obviously I wrote Navalny’s name, she says, referring to her late husband.
She receives support from NATO’s Secretary General. Jens Stoltenberg speaks TV 2 that Russia is becoming increasingly authoritarian.
– There is no real opposition. Those who stand up to the regime are either imprisoned, sent abroad, or killed. The latest example of that was Navalny, adds Stoltenberg.
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– Neither free nor fair
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) criticizes the election.
– The so-called election in Russia was neither free nor fair. It has not been an election as we know it from democracies, he says to NTB.
Eide emphasizes that parts of the presidential election were held in areas of Ukraine that are illegally occupied by Russia.
– This is a serious breach of international law, says the foreign minister.
He also expresses sympathy towards Russians who are still working for a better Russia.
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International criticism
Putin’s election landslide is met with widespread skepticism and condemnation internationally.
– The election is obviously neither free nor fair given how Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from standing against him, says a spokesperson for the White House.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is not thrilled either.
– The Russian dictator is simulating another election. It is clear to everyone in the world that this figure is sick of power and does everything to rule forever, he says.
Many other Western countries have also criticized the election. Great Britain, Germany and Poland are among those who, through their foreign ministries, have shown dissatisfaction.
Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, on the other hand, is one of the few heads of state to congratulate Putin on his victory.
(©NTB)