Russia started voting on Friday for a presidential election that will continue Vladimir Putin's rule for another six years. Vladimir Putin is expected to be in power for six more years.
After two years of the war in Ukraine, Putin remains dominant in the political landscape, and none of the other three candidates on the ballot present a credible challenge. Russia’s The Kremlin says Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, will win because he has support across society for restoring Russia from post-Soviet chaos and opposing the West.
The best known opposition politician in Russia, Alexei Navalny, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony last month, and other Kremlin critics are either exiled or in jail.
More than 114 million Russians are eligible to vote, including in what Moscow calls its 'new territories' – four regions of Ukraine that its forces only partly control, but which it has claimed as part of Russia. Ukraine says the staging of elections there is
Navalny’s supporters have called on people across Russia to protest by turning out to vote all at the same time at noon on Sunday in each of the country’s 11 time zones.
They have presented the 'Noon Against Putin' action as a way for people to express opposition without the risk of arrest, as they will be queuing up to vote legally. The Kremlin has warned people against participating in unauthorized gatherings.
Putin, 71, will surpass Soviet leader Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since 18th century Empress Catherine the Great if he completes a new six-year term.
Under constitutional changes approved by voters in 2020, he would then be eligible to run again, potentially extending his rule to 2036.
Russia started three days of voting on Friday in a presidential election that is set to extend the rule of Vladimir Putin by six more years.
