No surprise, Vladimir Putin is re-elected President of Russia: discover the score achieved by the master of the Kremlin

Sans surprise, Vladimir Poutine est réélu. MAXPPP – IMAGO/Gavriil Grigorov

Vladimir Poutine a remporté une victoire écrasante dimanche 17 mars à l'issue de l'élection présidentielle en Russie malgré les manifestations symboliques de quelques milliers d'opposants à midi devant les bureaux de vote.

The Russian President, who came to power at the end of 1999, obtained a new six-year mandate and thus, ultimately, surpass Joseph Stalin in longevity in the Kremlin. He obtained 87.7% of the vote, according to an exit poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).

This election, which began on Friday, was organized against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, ordered in February 2022 by Vladimir Putin with the launch of a "special military operation" in this country.

Ukraine has increased attacks on oil refineries in Russia in recent days, bombed Russian regions and sought to carry out cross-border incursions via proxy forces. The re-election of Vladimir Putin was hardly in doubt in the absence of a credible rival among the three other candidates, especially since his main opponent, Alexeï Navalny, died in detention last month.

The Kremlin hopes for a high turnout to demonstrate the Russian population's support for its president. A few hours before the polling stations closed at 6:00 p.m. GMT, the participation rate nationally exceeded the 67.5% of the previous presidential election in 2018. Supporters of Alexeï Navalny had called on the Russians to "noon against Putin", by all going to the polling stations in the middle of the day.

What participation ? 

It was impossible to independently estimate the scale of participation in this protest while tens of thousands of police and members of the security forces exercised strict control on the conduct of the vote.

Reuters journalists noted an influx of voters, young people in particular, at midday in polling stations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, with lines of several hundred or even thousands of people.

Some of these voters said they came at this time as a sign of protest against Vladimir Putin even though there were few signs distinguishing potential protesters from other citizens.

Rallies of opponents took place at noon in front of polling stations installed in Russian diplomatic representations in several countries in Europe and Asia.

In Paris, several dozen people gathered at the Trocadéro with slogans such as "Putin illegitimate" or "Withdrawal of troops in Ukraine". Yulia Navalnaïa, widow of Alexeï Navalny, took part in a demonstration in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin.

In Russia itself, isolated incidents have punctuated voting operations since Friday, with the spilling of tinted liquid into ballot boxes or attempts to set fire to polling stations. They should have no impact on the likely outcome of the vote.