Vladimir Putin won re-election to a fourth term as Russia's president with a landslide victory in Sunday's ballot. The only part of the outcome that was ever in doubt was voter turnout: Putin needed a large majority of voters to go to the polls. In this — as in so many other things — he got his wish: Tentative figures show 67 percent of voters cast ballots, leaving little doubt about the legitimacy of the results nor of Putin's mandate. With this affirmation, Putin will now focus on his next term and the world should worry about what he will do.
Putin won a resounding victory. Squaring off against seven challengers, he appears to have gained 77 percent of the vote, with Pavel Grudinin, the Communist Party candidate, taking 13 percent of votes cast and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, an ultranationalist, collecting 6 percent. The other candidates won even less. The most important potential challenger, opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, had been barred from contesting in the race. He called on supporters and like-minded citizens to boycott the "false and fake" election, arguing that their participation would provide a veneer of legitimacy for Putin.
His call had little impact, especially when the machinery of the state was focused on boosting turnout. In addition to a national public relations campaign to encourage voting, some cities provided free public transportation, while others offered free food and other giveaways. There are also reports of ballot stuffing, evidence of which has been caught on video. The head of the Central Election Commission has said that "we are immediately reacting to all claims no matter where they come from."