In fact, no proper opposition candidate was allowed to stand for election. Only the supporters of the recently deceased Alexei Navalny protested anything symbolic. Long queues of voters were seen outside cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg and many embassies abroad as part of their 'Noon Against Putin' programme, but this had no bearing on the outcome.
At least 80 people have been arrested, according to the monitoring agency OVD-Info. Sporadic attacks occurred in some polling stations on Friday. But it didn't happen again for the next two days. Western countries are saying in one voice that the vote was neither free nor fair.
Germany calls it "arranged-selection". Says Russia's authoritarian regime relies on censorship, repression and violence.
UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron condemned the holding of "illegal elections on the territory of Ukraine".
"This is an election to keep a dictator in power," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Leonid Volkov, a close ally of Navalny, commented, "Putin's poll numbers have nothing to do with reality." Volkov, who is in exile in Lithuania, was the victim of a horrific attack last week. He was beaten with a hammer.
Voting continued for three days in Russia. There was more time allotted to encourage residents of Russian-held areas of Ukraine to vote.
An Election Commission official was reported killed in the occupied city of Berdyansk. Residents said pro-Russians accompanied by armed soldiers were going door to door with ballot boxes. Still, Russian state TV channels hailed the result as a huge victory. The result was an unforgettable show of support and unity for Vladimir Putin, a reporter was heard saying. "And a signal to the Western countries," he exulted. President Putin, however, was more subdued at the press conference.
However, he claims that the Russian election campaign is much more advanced than the American one. In particular, online voting comes up in his speech. According to election officials, 8 million voters have exercised their right to vote online this time.
Vladimir Putin also voted online. "It's transparent and absolutely neutral," he said.
"It's not like mail-in voting in the United States... that you can buy a vote for $10," added the Russian president.
Independent monitoring agency Golos was not allowed to observe the vote. But, the information of irregularities came out right. Government employees are reportedly pressured to vote at polling stations or online.
President Putin also praised the opposition's campaign. He said that the voter turnout has increased. He criticized those who spoiled the ballots and warned of action. This is the first time Putin has named Alexei Navalny. A month ago, one of Putin's staunchest critics died in a prison in the Arctic Circle. His speech was an attempt to deny the charges of killing Navalny. He said that he wanted to send Navalny to a western country through a prisoner exchange. The only condition was that he could never return to the country.
"I was all for the process, but, unfortunately, what happened. What's to be done? That's life."
Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, went to vote as part of the protest. He stood in line for six hours in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin. He said that he had written the name of his late husband in his ballot paper. He thanked the people who joined the protest. said their presence proved "all is not lost".
The Russian presidential election was never meant to be a level playing field. Because the Kremlin tightly controls everything from the political system to the media to elections. Vladimir Putin's closest rival was Communist Party candidate Nikolai Kharitonov. He got just over four percent of the vote. The other two contenders got less than that.
None of the three candidates were 'serious'. In fact, Mr. Kharitonov routinely praised the president for "uniting the nation" ahead of the election. Millions of Russians have chosen Putin for a fifth term as president in part because they see no credible alternative.
The main reason, however, is that the Kremlin has removed any possible challengers from the political landscape. Dissidents either went to jail, fled into exile or lost their lives.
It had been rumored for weeks that an anti-war politician named Boris Nadezhdin might be allowed to stand. But the Election Commission dropped him last month. Because his support was gradually increasing.
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