Vladimir Putin cruises to landslide election victory
Opponents accuse government of artificially boosting voter turnout figures

Vladimir Putin has posted a landslide victory in Russia’s election, with exit polls showing he has secured at least 73% of the vote, a marked improvement on the 63.6% he won in 2012.
Putin’s nearest rival, millionaire Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, secured around 12% of the ballots, with nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky coming third with around 6%.
Russia’s main opposition leader Alexei Navalny was barred by the government from taking part in the election.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
State exit polls have put voter turnout at more than 60%, the BBC says, with Putin’s campaign team hoping for as large voter numbers “to give him the strongest possible mandate.”
However, there have been several complaints made of ballot stuffing and other measures designed to boost turnout figures.
Putin’s opponents claim that employers with close ties to the government had ordered staff to vote “so that a low turnout would not tarnish the win,” the Reuters news agency says.
Staff were reportedly asked to provide evidence they had voted, and journalists witnessed a number of people at different locations voting in groups, and photographing themselves at the ballot box.
The win will see Putin in power for a further six years, when by law he must step down, in 2024, at the age of 71.
CNN notes that Putin has not visibly groomed a successor, “prompting speculation he may try to find ways to extend his power beyond this term.”
However, when asked by a journalist if he would run for president again, Putin said: “What you’re saying is just silly… what, am I going to sit here for 100 years?”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869–1939
Feature Wrightwood 659, Chicago, through Aug. 2
-
Why the FDA wants to restrict kratom-related products
In the Spotlight The compound is currently sold across the United States
-
Israeli NGOs have started referring to Gaza as a 'genocide' — will it matter?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION For the first time since fighting began in 2023, two Israeli rights groups have described their country's actions in the Gaza Strip as 'genocide' while famine threatens the blockaded Palestinian territory
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Melania Trump's intervention on Ukraine
In The Spotlight The first lady has been linked to the president's U-turn on sending arms to Kyiv
-
Is the Trump-Putin bromance over... again?
Today's Big Question The US president has admitted he's 'p*ssed off' with his opposite number
-
Is the G7 still relevant?
Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Frustrated Trump warns 'crazy' Putin
Feature Trump lashes out online after Putin launches his largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine
-
'Russia's position is fragile'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer