With a president for life, megalomaniac and expansionist, the possibility of a larger confrontation in Europe is a reality.
Photo: EFE – SERGEI ILNITSKY
In an election questioned internationally for its lack of legitimacy, Vladimir Putin was re-elected as president of Russia. Since the Kremlin occupier assumed an authoritarian mood to remain in power, the most representative figures of the opposition, including Alexei Navalny, have suffered exile, been imprisoned or murdered. Any action that the authorities consider illegal, such as protesting against the war in Ukraine or criticizing Putin on social networks, is punishable by prison sentences. Hence, his victory in the elections (with 87.28% of the votes) is the reflection of an autocratic regime.
Added to the nonexistence of opponents was another important aspect on election day: the triumph of the nationalist discourse that seeks to recover Russia’s power through war and the annexation of new territories. The vast majority of Russians believe that their leader is leading them towards a past glory that was lost because of Western countries. Two previous war events, the war in Georgia, in 2008, and the annexation of Crimea, in 2014, a territory that belongs to Ukraine, gave him significant gains in terms of popularity. At 71 years old, Putin has assured that Sunday’s victory is absolute support for his plans, since “the nation defends its progress with weapons in its hands (and the electoral victory) is a sign of confidence on the part of the citizens.” and of hope that everything that lies ahead of us will be fulfilled (…) Our plans are great (one of them being) to expand Russian weapons.”
Vladimir Putin has managed the destinies of Russia for 24 years. He was elected president in 2000, when he pledged to defend the nascent democracy with respect for human rights and freedom of information. Since then he has maneuvered to accumulate power and wield it with an iron fist. Internally, he displaced his eventual competitors and promoted a candidate to replace him in power, Dmitri Medvedev, while he managed to modify the Constitution so that re-election was approved.
Faced with Navalni’s death, he said on Sunday that “this is life.” Both the family of the deceased opposition leader and Western governments point to him as responsible for his death. This is not the first time something like this has happened. Alexánder Lébed, who was going to compete against Putin and decided to postpone his candidacy, died in a helicopter accident. Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, died after being poisoned with radioactive polonium and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov was shot several times in front of the Kremlin. In addition to Navalny, last year the plane in which Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, was traveling exploded, going from unconditional ally to declared enemy. Journalists and other people who confronted Putin have also died in strange circumstances.
Ukraine, which was Putin’s great bet to rearm the defunct Soviet Union, ended up becoming a costly fiasco. Two years after the start of the war of aggression against their neighbor, Ukrainians have resisted heroically with the support of the West. The death toll, although the actual figures are difficult to know, is more than 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed and more than 120,000 wounded, while Russian soldiers would be more than 120,000 dead and 180,000 wounded. To which are added the civilian victims, estimated at more than 10,000, as well as the injured civilians.
His recent victory allows him to be in power until 2030 and, if he wanted to continue, he could do so until 2036, since a change in the Constitution allowed him to do so. With a president for life, megalomaniac and expansionist, the possibility of a larger confrontation in Europe is a reality. The West must firmly contain this dangerous threat.
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