Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, commenced his renewed six-year term on Tuesday in a Kremlin event that saw absences from the United States and a variety of western nations due to Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Having held a position of power since 1999, either as president or prime minister, Putin embarks on this latest tenure more than two years following his deployment of an immense troop force into Ukraine. It is here that Russian soldiers have reestablished control after repeated setbacks and are intent on making further inroads in the eastern regions.
Domestic politics see Putin exerting a clear dominance at the age of 71. On the global stage, Putin finds himself in an ongoing contest with western nations, whom he believes are leveraging Ukraine as a means to suppress and dismantle Russia.
Speaking on behalf of Russia’s continuity and stability, Putin’s close ally, Sergei Chemezov, spoke to Reuters ahead of the inauguration. “President Putin has been re-elected and will proceed, though the West may not welcome this. They should realise that Putin brings stability to Russia as opposed to a newly emerged figure with uncertain policies, whether they incite collaboration or aggravate conflict,” he explained.
Putin claimed a decisive victory in the heavily regulated elections in March, where two candidates opposing the war were excluded due to procedural reasons. His prominent adversary, Alexei Navalny, underwent an abrupt demise in an Arctic penal colony only one month prior. Additionally, important critics are either incarcerated or have felt compelled to seek refuge overseas.
The inauguration on Tuesday was overlooked by the US and numerous western nations. The absence of American representation at the inauguration was confirmed by Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US state department, on Monday. “Despite our doubts about the fairness and legitimacy of the election, he remains Russia’s president and will uphold that role.”
Whilst the United Kingdom, Canada, and the majority of European Union countries elected to avoid the inauguration, France stated it would dispatch its ambassador.
Ukraine commented that the event was merely an attempt to legitimise the nearly lifelong tenure of a person who has transformed the Russian Federation into a belligerent nation and the governing regime into a dictatorship, according to Reuters.