EU president congratulates Putin on ‘landslide’ win … as Russian voting kicks off
EU president congratulates Putin on ‘landslide’ win … as Russian voting kicks off
“No opposition. No freedom. No choice,” blasted sarcastic Charles Michel.
I can't imagine a worse insult to a dictator trying to preserve the illusion of free elections in his country than to congratulate him on his landslide victory before the election is even over.
Well done
They don't give a shit. The elections are for ambitious people in Russia to think "if I'm the next Navalny, I can beat him!". This illusion stops those ambitious people from an actual revolution and is a huge part of a dictatorship.
You're right that they don't give a fuck, but I don't think the reasoning really runs that deep.
If you have an election, no matter how corrupt or coerced, then any assertion that you're an autocratic dictator is an "opinion" requiring evidence to support it.
This way, it says democracy on the tin, so everyone will behave as though it is that, despite no one buying it.
I was ready to be snarky, then I realised he said it before the results were known.
Well played sir.
A Luhansk resident voting (Polaris images)
Looks like a totally fair election; normal countries always make their citizens vote at gunpoint.
Before i start flipping chairs, whats the source on this image?
Not where I found it, but it has a snopes page: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/voting-in-russias-2024-election/
And good for you for being critical. Misinformation is everywhere, don't believe what you see on the internet
Austria, March 1938.
Warms my heart how well Russia protects and looks after her new citizens during the act of voting.
Just look at this pic: If she were to make an error with her vote, those officials can point it out and correct her on time, before the ballot disappears in the ballot box. And if she happens to be an enemy of the state, she can be dealt with immediately before she has a chance of attacking the Russian democracy.
Shows you that Putin really does care in a way western leaders don't.
How does the voting process work there? That pic looks like it's just signing that you voted
The voting process is that all other serious contenders are thrown in prison and/or killed, international observers aren't safe to verify the result, protests are forbidden, armed soldiers go door to door, and nobody trusts the secrecy of the vote
Have you noticed there's an armed soldier inside the voting station?
I heard he's projected to get 110% of the vote this time.
Putin will order the murder of every firstborn for such a humiliating result.
Who said belgium/eu had no balls haha. If he really said that, im surprised by charles michel haha
Puttin clearly the best politician, Winning before even starting and not even campaigning! Big wow! Incredible job! /s
Oh the utter SHADE! Or as they say in Russian, Оттенок.
Love those lowercase capital "T"s
Wait until you see them in cursive...
That's just normal Cyrillic.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The European Council president congratulated Vladimir Putin on his big win in the Russian presidential election — just as three days of voting began Friday.
“Would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his landslide victory in the elections starting today,” blasted Michel, who is more renowned for diplomatic faux pas than social media snark.
Russians headed to the polls Friday for the first day of voting in a rigged election that Putin is almost certain to win, granting him another six years in power.
The Russian president, who spent years cracking down on any form of dissent against his rule, is expected to face off against three candidates who have voluntarily abstained from criticizing him.
The only two significant anti-war opposition candidates, Ekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin, have been disqualified.
Putin was first elected as Russian president in 2000 and — other than a break when he took on the role of prime minister between 2008 and 2012 — has held the top job ever since.
The original article contains 215 words, the summary contains 162 words. Saved 25%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Russia election: Arrests for vandalism as ballot boxes targeted in Putin vote
Incidents involved green dye being poured into ballot boxes, the boxes being set alight and fireworks being set off inside polling stations, state media reported.
[...]
BBC Verify has so far verified footage of six incidents across Russia, including a video showing a woman throwing a petrol bomb near a St Petersburg polling station.
Other authenticated videos showed paint being poured into ballot boxes at various polling stations. In one, a woman could be seen pouring bright green liquid into a box in Moscow. Another showed a fire breaking out at a voting booth.
Russia has also enforced the vote in occupied areas of Ukraine - in the small town of Skadovsk, Russian-appointed officials said an improvised device exploded in a rubbish bin in front of a polling station, but no one was hurt.
