Several thousand people gathered on Monday evening in Red Square in Moscow to attend a show marking a decade since the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.
The temperature was around zero degrees, but the light games, the stage decorated in white, blue, and red, the Russian flag, the giant screens, and the music warmed the atmosphere, creating a festive setting for Vladimir Putin’s speech.
„We have moved forward together, holding hands, and this unity has made us strong, demonstrated through actions, not just words,” declared the Russian leader from the brightly lit stage, surrounded by young people and officials.
After three days of rigged elections, the electoral office announced Putin's victory with 87%, with a voter turnout of 77% out of over 114 million registered voters, higher than six years ago.
Vladimir Putin was pleased with the numbers. At least, that's how he appeared at Monday's event in Red Square.
The charade of democracy was important for the Russian leader. He needed confirmation, even if deceitful, of his authority. He needed a staging, a popular validation to feel secure and to send a message to his circle of power, that despite the war, most Russians still see him as the only salvation.
Putin might have won the elections even if Alexei Navalny had been allowed to live. He would have won even if inconvenient opponents had not been removed from the electoral lists, but his authority would have been diminished.
The victory would not have been decisive, creating new leaders and possibilities for governing Russia outside the current political system.
A dictatorship is recognized by the fact that it does not accept any form of competition, and any form of competition is seen by the authoritarian leader as a diminishment of personal power and an existential threat.
The Best Time
Despite the blatant falsification of the voting process, with repression and fear spread throughout society, Putin emerged strengthened from the artificial act of validating his political regime.
Two years after the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian leader is in his best time.
After two years of war, Putin knows that the alliance will not give up, even if decisions are made more slowly, and no one was prepared for such a conflict.