Despite the clear path to victory for Putin, the Kremlin reportedly spent more than $1 billion on propaganda in the lead up to the elections
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russians head to the polls this week in a presidential election that will almost certainly result in Vladimir Putin decisively winning yet another six-year term. When he does, it will make him the longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. Advance polling indicates he will earn 75 per cent of the vote and face little or no meaningful opposition. His three main opponents are each polling at 5 per cent or less, while any candidate thought likely to attract support—or who would use the campaign to robustly oppose the war in Ukraine—has been banned, imprisoned or killed.
Despite the clear path to victory for Putin, the Kremlin reportedly spent more than $1 billion on propaganda in the lead up to the elections. Much of this budget was allocated to infotainment to promote nationalism, unity and traditional values. But why would a regime in the midst of a war, that has cost Russia more than US$200 billion feel the need to put effort into a sham election?
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Putin may be trying to avoid the same pitfalls of other dictatorships such as Iran which saw record low turnout of 41 per cent in its recent parliamentary elections, the lowest since its 1979 revolution, reflecting widespread disillusionment with the Islamic regime. He is certainly trying to avoid any perceptions of illegitimacy, or a large protest vote in the wake of the death of his biggest opponent, Alexei Navalny.
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