Vladimir Putin on Sunday won the Russian presidential election with 87.97per cent votes, reported news agency Reuters. The three-day election that began Friday has taken place in a tightly controlled environment where no public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine is allowed. Putin's fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile.
The 71-year-old Russian leader faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties who have refrained from any criticism of his 24-year rule or his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Putin has boasted of Russian battlefield successes in the run-up to the vote, but a massive Ukrainian drone attack across Russia early Sunday sent a reminder of challenges faced by Moscow.
Russia's scattered opposition has urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to express their protest by coming to the polls at noon on Sunday. The action was endorsed by Navalny not long before his death.
Navalny's associates described their strategy as a success, releasing pictures and videos of people crowding near polling stations in various cities across Russia. It wasn't immediately clear if the voters lining up at polling stations heeded the call from Navalny's allies or the queues reflected strong turnout that usually peaks around midday.
Voting is taking place at polling stations across the vast country's 11 time zones, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine, and online. More than 60% of eligible voters had cast ballots as of early Sunday.
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