INTUSK MAGAZINE

Russia's election on Sunday saw President Vladimir Putin win in a record-breaking post-Soviet landslide, solidifying his already firm hold on power and demonstrating that Moscow was correct to defy the West and deploy soldiers into Ukraine.

Putin, a former lieutenant colonel in the KGB who came to power in 1999, made it plain that the outcome should serve as a warning to the West's leaders that, in peace or conflict, they will have to deal with a more powerful Russia for many years to come.

As a result, Putin, 71, will begin a new six-year term that, should he finish, will surpass Josef Stalin's record of 200 years as Russia's longest-serving leader.

According to an exit survey conducted by pollster Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), Putin received 87.8% of the vote, the most percentage of any candidate in Russia's post-Soviet history. Putin was ranked 87% by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM). According to the initial official findings, the polls were correct.
Partial results indicated that ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky came in fourth, rookie Vladislav Davankov came in third, and communist contender Nikolai Kharitonov came in second with little less than 4%.

Due to censorship and the incarceration of political opponents, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other countries have declared that the vote was not free nor fair.