Faced with no real competition, Putin is sure to expand his grip on power (File)
Moscow:
To the sound of Russian pop music blasting from the speakers at the polling station, Eduard Ishnazarov cast his vote for the only candidate he believed could bring peace: Vladimir Putin.
In the monastic town of Sergiev, northeast of Moscow, Russians taking part in this weekend’s presidential election told AFP they hoped to end the military offensive launched by the Russian leader by voting for him.
“I came to vote to vote for a man who did everything he could to make sure there was no war in the world,” said Ishnazarov, 54.
He said he has complete trust in Putin as Russia’s president and called him “a man who can truly save the world.”
With no real competition, Putin is certain to expand his grip on power in this election, which he has run to show support for his military campaign in Ukraine.
The offensive is now in its third year.
‘Path of justice’
Orthodox nun Sister Alexandra says she sees “no paradox” in the ongoing military attack in Ukraine, claiming it ultimately “saves lives”.
The 77-year-old, who moved to Russia from France in 2018, added: “Russians value life, we do not support death” – referring to abortion rights in Europe.
Backed by the powerful Orthodox Church, Putin promotes “traditional family values” and contrasts them with what he sees as a decadent liberal West characterized by LGBT+ rights.
The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed it has launched what it calls a “special military operation” to protect Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine.
“We are moving forward on the path of justice,” Sister Alexandra said.
The town of Sergiev is located about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Moscow and is considered the religious center of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Members of the local election committee made their way across icy roads and around the city’s famous blue-and-gold-domed monastery on Saturday to register senior citizens to vote at home.
“Follow everything”
Among them was 87-year-old Inessa Rozhkova, who complained that icy snow on her doorstep prevented her from leaving her home.
“I’m so happy to see so many people! I rarely see visitors!” she said as she led officials to her living room, where the walls are decorated with religious icons and a red carpet.
She said she participated in all but one of the elections and was very interested in politics.
“I follow everything, I know everything…I watch TV all the time,” she said.
Putin is a ubiquitous presence on Russian state television, broadcasting his meetings, speeches and events for hours on end almost every day.
Rossiya 1 channel airs a weekly program called “Moscow, Kremlin, Putin” documenting the Russian leader’s life and regional travels.
With the election underway, recent news has focused on a new wave of attacks in Ukraine on the Russian border, which left at least six people dead this week.
“Peace above all else”
Rozhkova said she was “constantly worried” about the fate of people living near the front lines.
“I hope this special operation ends as soon as possible,” she said, using the Russian term for the offensive.
“I want this so bad and more than anything…can you imagine how many people died?”
Hundreds of kilometers away, voters in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg expressed similar sentiments.
“The first thing we want today is peace,” said 70-year-old pensioner Lyubov Pyankova.
She stood in front of a polling station decorated with a red, white and blue “V” symbol – a symbol associated with military offensives – that is also used by Moscow to promote the vote.
Piyankova said Russia just wanted to “not be disturbed and not told what to do.”
Constantine, a civil servant who declined to give his last name, said he hoped to wake up one day “knowing that people are not fighting and not dying.”
But he sees no alternative to Putin.
The Kremlin bans candidates who oppose the conflict in Ukraine from the ballot.
Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most vocal opponent of the past decade, died of unknown causes in an Arctic prison in February.
“Frankly, I know that no one can replace him yet,” Konstantin, 46, said of Putin.
“That’s why I voted for him.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
