No Miracles at the Elections, But Can We Declare Putin’s Triumph?
Can the predictable election results tell us anything about the state of Russian society? IStories’ Olga Churakova shares her opinion
No miracles occurred during Russia's recent elections, but the question remains: can we proclaim Putin's victory? The conclusion from the government's sources is that holding the election was extremely challenging, marked by fatigue and apathy across the nation. The United Russia party, which has been ruling for 25 years, once again secured the largest parliamentary faction in Russian history.
Voter turnout reached 59.32 percent, with 62.6 million people casting their ballots, setting a ten-year record. Despite numerous obstacles and the party's usual arsenal, the ruling party managed to achieve these results, despite a lack of genuine political competition. Some parties, like the opposition in exile, had to self-censor their messages, while others, like the LDPR party, received support from the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, the CPRF party's performance declined, and the Just Russia party failed to surpass the 5 percent threshold. The public's anxiety and questions about a potential new mobilization added to the tense atmosphere. While these elections may not accurately reflect the country's sentiments, the trend towards skepticism about political parties and the system's reliance on the absence of competition positively influences the government's favor.
However, this does not bring about great optimism, as the decisive role of citizens in shaping the future remains uncertain.
Written by urgent.news from iStories (Important Stories)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
