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Putin "wins" Russia election, but at what cost?
| Ian Bremmer | Quick Take

Putin "wins" Russia election, but at what cost?

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take:

A Quick Take to kick off your week. Want to talk about things Russian. We, of course, just had an “election” that Putin “won.”

There is no opposition to speak of in Russia. If you're running against him and allowed to run, that means that you are considered acceptable to the regime and you're basically there to play against the Harlem Globetrotters. What was it, the senators, the generals? I can't remember what it was called, but that was the group that was there to make the winning team look good. Of course, you know, Putin is not as much fun to watch as the Globetrotters, but he certainly is politically talented and of course, it's important for him to show that he has an historic win with historic turnout better than anyone before in Russia, not quite Turkmen in Turkmenbashi in Central Asia, not quite Aliyev levels in Azerbaijan, but strong enough for Russia.

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Putin wins another classic Soviet election
Putin wins another classic Soviet election | Europe In :60

Putin wins another classic Soviet election

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from Stockholm.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, it's been announced that Vladimir Putin has won the presidential election with a record support and a record turnout. It was, by all standards, a Soviet election. With all of the restrictions that you could think of and the real result, well, it wasn't very much to choose between.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony launching the construction of infrastructure objects via video link from a residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 14, 2024.

Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

25 years on, is Putin unstoppable?

Surprising zero people, Vladimir Putin on Sunday "won" his fifth term as Russia’s president.

The result was not close: Russia's electoral authorities say Putin took 87% of the vote with 77% turnout. A landslide was never in question, as Putin has systematically eliminated any opposition to his rule.

Putin has now ruled Russia for 25 years. When he first became president, no one had ever heard of "YouTube,” Italy’s economy was still bigger than China’s, and Britney Spears ruled the Billboard with “One More Time.” But now, a quarter of a century later, is Putin more powerful than ever?

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Russian President Vladimir Putin tours an exhibition as part of the Strong Ideas for a New Time forum held by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, an autonomous non-profit organization in Moscow, on Feb. 20, 2024.

Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS

Viewpoint: Russian authorities seek strong election showing for Putin

Amid tight control of dissent, a crackdown on the opposition, and a big pressure campaign to get voters to the polls, there is little doubt President Vladimir Putin will win another term in office in elections being heldon March 15-17. Still,the Kremlin is working hard to ensure a strong showing for the 71-year-old leader who has ruled the country for 25 years. Displays of public support are important for his legitimacy.

Eurasia Group expert Alex Brideau says one important watchpoint will be whether the followers of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who recently died in a Russian prison, can organize a symbolic protest vote. We sat down with Alex to learn more about what to expect in the election and the strength of the Putin regime.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with winners of the Leaders of Russia national management competition at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 12, 2024.

Sputnik/Sergei Savostyanov/Pool via REUTERS

​Despite Putin’s current swagger, Russia remains vulnerable

After last year’s failed Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has signaled confidence that, thanks to lagging support from the West and Ukraine’s shortage of troops and weapons, Russia can win a war of attrition. But a series of stories today remind us the Kremlin still has plenty of security concerns.

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A girl waits for customers while selling meat to feed the birds, as a form of charity to bring good luck and ward off adversity, along Ravi Bridge in Lahore, Pakistan.

REUTERS/Nida Mehboob

Hard Numbers: Pakistan’s well-fed predators, Russia’s cool prices, Biden’s unrealistic budget, Telegram’s big moment

20: What can 20 Pakistani rupees ($0.07) buy you? A defense against misfortune sounds like a bargain. That’s the price you’ll pay for a packet of scrap meat to throw to predatory birds in Lahore. The practice is an age-old tradition that has survived despite intensifying efforts by the authorities to stamp it out. Wildlife experts say it encourages overpopulation and aggression in the bird populations, but a local rickshaw driver tells Reuters he does it anyway to “keep his life safe.”

0.6: New data from Russia this week will show consumer prices rose just 0.6% in February. Annual inflation is likely even lower than the last reading of 7.5%. That’s not stellar, no, but for a sanctions-wracked economy where inflation hit nearly 18% after invading Ukraine, it’s another sign the West hasn’t really crippled the Kremlin’s war machine. Vladimir Putin, for his part, is confident enough in the inflation numbers to uncork $126 billion in social spending ahead of his “election” this weekend.

7.3 trillion: Speaking of spending, US President Joe Bidenunveiled a $7.3 trillion budget proposal on Monday featuring massive new social spending financed by tax hikes on corporations and the mega-rich. Non-partisan analysts say the math is “unrealistic,” and it has zero chance of passing a GOP-run House anyway. But it’s not meant for Capitol Hill; it’s meant for the campaign trail, where Biden is trying to convince American voters that “Bidenomics” is a win. Polls show skepticism, despite improving economic data.

900 million: Social media apps owned by “China,” Mark Zuckerberg, or Elon Musk may get all the attention these days, but the messaging app Telegram has quietly hit 900 million regular users (nearly 3X that of X) and is mulling an IPO. The freewheeling Dubai-based platform, created by Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has emerged as a major free speech hub, particularly in Russia, but it has also drawn criticism for allegedly allowing criminal activity and “misinformation.”

Why Sweden and Finland joined NATO
TITLE PLACEHOLDER | Carl Bildt | Europe In :60

Why Sweden and Finland joined NATO

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Was the Swedish and Finnish decision to move into NATO, was that driven by fear of Russia attacking them?

Not really. I don't think either of our countries feel any immediate threat by Russian aggression. But what happened when Russia, Mr. Putin, to be precisely, attacked Ukraine was a fundamental upsetting of the entire European security order. And although Mr. Putin's priority at the moment, he’s very clear on that, is to get rid of Ukraine by invading and occupying all of it, you never know where he's going to stop. And this led Finland and Sweden to do the fundamental reassessment of their security policies. Giving up, in Swedish case, we've been outside of military alliances for the last 200 years or something like that.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu

Reuters

Russian military makes swift advance

Fresh off their conquest of the town of Avdiivka in Eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are continuing to make advances against Kyiv’s increasingly taxed troops.

Since the end of February, Russian troops have reportedly pushed an additional two miles beyond Avdiivka. That may not sound like much, but as Al Jazeera gamely pointed out, two miles in a week is a proper hare’s pace for a Russian military that spent four months (and as many as 16,000 casualties) just to advance 5 miles to Avdiivka itself.

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