Vladimir Putin has secured another six-year term as Russian president, exit polls revealed on Sunday. This victory paves the way for the hardline former spy to become the longest-serving Russian leader in over 200 years.
Putin's victory was widely expected, as all his major opponents are either deceased, in prison, or exiled. The government-run VTsIOM pollster projected that Putin had won with 87 percent of the vote after polls closed in Russia's western-most region of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.
The three-day election was marked by a surge in deadly Ukrainian bombardments, incursions into Russian territory by pro-Kyiv sabotage groups, and vandalism at polling stations.
The Kremlin portrayed the election as an opportunity for Russians to show support for the full-scale military operation in Ukraine, where voting was also being conducted in Russian-controlled territories.
Kyiv and its allies denounced the vote as a sham, with President Volodymyr Zelensky describing Putin as a "dictator" who was "drunk with power." Ukrainian ally Poland echoed these sentiments, stating that the vote was not "legal, free, and fair."
EU chief Charles Michel sarcastically congratulated Putin on his "landslide victory" on the first day of polls opening. Allies of the late Alexei Navalny, Putin's most prominent rival who died in an Arctic prison last month, urged voters to flood polling stations at noon and spoil their ballots for a "Noon Against Putin" protest.
Despite the volatility and pullbacks, which add strength to the upside potential, investors are advised to take advantage of price corrections. Observing global and domestic trends and events is also recommended.
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