President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia would not be “intimidated” a day after winning the polls with a landslide.
“No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness — no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never,” President Putin said.
“I want to thank all of you and all citizens of the country for your support and this trust,” Putin said early Monday morning in a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow hours after polls closed.
With 99 percent of voting stations having submitted results, Putin had secured 87.33 percent of all votes cast, government election data showed, according to state news agency RIA.
Putin singled out Russian troops fighting in Ukraine for special thanks in his post-election speech in Moscow.
Meanwhile, leaders around the world congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin for winning the presidential election.
Putin received congratulatory remarks from North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and other leaders of Russia-friendly countries.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also commended Putin on the “victory” at a press conference in Beijing on March 18 saying that “China expresses its congratulations.” Chinese President Xi Jinping has so far not commented on the election.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for U.S. President Joe Biden’s National Security Council, said the election was “obviously not free nor fair” in comments cited by the New York Times.
