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Russian election: West condemns 'pseudo-election' as Putin claims landslide win - BBC News Russian election latest: Putin claims landslide win as West condemns 'pseudo-election' - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
President Putin has mocked democracy in the United States following his inevitable landslide victory in Russia's presidential election, which is tightly controlled by the Kremlin.
If you are just joining us this morning, here's a quick recap of the key developments from yesterday's final day of voting in the Russian elections. When Russian election officials said results gave him more than 87% of the vote, Putin said Russia's democracy was more transparent than many in the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed a landslide victory in Russia's presidential election, with election officials giving him more than 87% of the vote Taking questions from reporters, he hailed Russia's presidential campaign as far more advanced than the US, citing Russia's use of online voting, which officials said brought in eight million voters.
However, Western countries have condemned the election as a sham, with no credible opposition candidate allowed Putin had earlier been filmed performing a single keystroke to exercise his democratic right.
The election took place over three days of voting which ended on Sunday. People across the country's eleven different time zones cast their ballot, with Russian officials saying turnout was greater than 74% in the election "It's transparent and absolutely objective," he suggested, "not like in the US with mail-in voting... you can buy a vote for $10".
There was, however, some symbolic opposition with the "Noon against Putin" initiative backed by Yulia Navalnaya - the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny Independent watchdog Golos was barred from observing the vote but reports of irregularities have emerged, as well as pressure on public sector employees to vote either in polling stations or online.
Long queues formed at noon in Russian cities including Moscow and St Petersburg, and in even greater numbers outside many embassies abroad, in a sign of protest
Voting also took place in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea
Speaking after his victory, Putin said Russia would become stronger: "No matter how hard they tried to scare us, suppress our will, our conscience", before adding "they failed now and they will fail in the future"
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