President Vladimir Putin basked in an election victory that was never in doubt, as officials said Monday that he had won his fifth term with a record number of votes.
Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999.
Early Monday, Putin hailed overwhelming preliminary results as an indication of “trust” and “hope” in him.
Russia’s Central Election Commission said Monday that with nearly 100% of all precincts counted, Putin got 87.29% of the vote.
Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said that nearly 76 million voters cast their ballots for Putin, his highest vote tally ever.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela quickly congratulated Putin on his victory, as did the leaders of ex-Soviet nations Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the West dismissed the vote as a sham.
