Russia: Putin's election victory hailed by allies, decried by West

Russia's election commission on Monday hailed what it called Vladimir Putin's "record" victory in the presidential election, claiming that he had won 97% of the vote. It claimed that the turnout was also a record high oh 77% of the voters.

With more than 99% of the votes counted, "almost 76 million people" voted for Putin, said election chief Ella Pamfilova. "This is a record figure," she said, adding: "In the face of the West we have shown that we are united."

The results came amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the country's crackdown on opposition and free speech. Only three candidates were allowed to run against Putin, and none of them opposed his war in Ukraine.

What did Putin's allies say?

Putin's friends around the world were quick to congratulate him on his victory. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Putin on his re-election, state media reported. According to Xi, Putin's victory "fully reflects" the support of the Russian people.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also congratulated his Russian counterpart on his "decisive" win in the presidential election. "The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a message sincerely congratulated Vladimir Putin on his decisive victory and re-election as the President of the Russian Federation," state news agency IRNA reported.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said of Putin's re-election: "Our older brother has triumphed, which bodes well for the world."

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said that his people "welcomed with joy the victory of President Putin for they see in him a great statesman and a friend on whom we can always count."

How did the West react?

At the same time, the Russian leader's victory was rejected by the West. "Putin's re-election was based on "repression and intimidation," said the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, adding that the elections in Russia were not free and fair.

According to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the election in Russia was not a real election. "Russia's election was an election without choice," she said, adding that the EU would pave the way for new sanctions against Russia.

France's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the re-election of Putin took place in a context of repression of civil society and that the conditions for a free and democratic election were not met.

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the "illegal" elections featured "a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring." "This is not what free and fair elections look like," he added.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the "elections were neither free nor fair". "We are continuing to work for a just peace that will bring Russia to put an end to the war of aggression against Ukraine, in accordance with international law." he added.

The election was called a "farce and parody" by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. "This was the Russian presidential election that showed how this regime suppresses civil society, independent media, opposition," he said.