Russians are voting in election Putin will win

Russians vote in election Putin will win

The Kremlin controls every aspect of the voting process, including the candidates and the vote-counting

(Image credit: Contributor / Getty Images)

What happened

Russians began voting Friday in a three-day election that is all but guaranteed to hand President Vladimir Putin a fifth term.

Who said what

The Russian election is a "sham," said Sam Greene, a director at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. "The Kremlin controls who's on the ballot" and "every aspect of the voting and the vote-counting process."

The commentary

Putin's opponents are mostly in prison, exiled or dead. His three authorized rivals are low-profile politicians from token opposition parties. Yes, "Putin is certain to win," Politico said, but Russia's opposition is determined to give him a "bloody nose," urging protesters to vote en masse at noon on Sunday to "showcase popular revulsion" at Putin's reign.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

What next?

Russians will "doubtless wake up to find President Putin has been reelected" on March 18, and "when he appears at a victory rally in Moscow, he may even shed a tear — as he did after the 2012 presidential election," the BBC said. Then it is six more years of "the illusion of democracy."

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.