His favorite singer sang nationalist ballads that appealed to Russians. She said, “Her homeland is calling. Don't let her down.”
His favorite band belted out moody songs about wartime sacrifice.
He then took to the stage under a banner celebrating the 10th anniversary of the occupation of Crimea from Ukraine, reminding the thousands of Russians gathered on Red Square that the fight for more territory in Russia is not yet over. I let it happen.
President Vladimir V. Putin signaled on Monday, a day after declaring victory in a performative election, that the war against Ukraine will continue to dominate his administration, and that he will seek to “return the people of eastern Ukraine to their families in their homeland.” called for unity.
“We will move forward together, hand in hand,” Putin told the audience, boasting of the restoration of a railway line that would soon lead to Crimea, passing through territory taken from Ukraine. “And this is exactly what makes us really strong: our actions, not our words.”
The display of nationalist fervor came as the culmination of a three-day election, the outcome of which was foreshadowed, prompting comparisons between Mr. Putin's Russia and other authoritarian dictatorships. On Sunday night, state news quickly reported that he had received more than 87 percent of the vote.
Underscoring the artificial nature of the election, Mr. Putin offered to bring three puppet competitors chosen by the Kremlin to run against him to the Red Square stage and point each one at the microphone. , all took “different approaches” but “one homeland.”
The communist candidate, who Russian authorities called second place with just over 4% of the vote, praised Mr Putin for returning Crimea to his “home port”.
The nationalist candidate said that Crimea will forever remain part of Russia on the world map, sending a cheer: “To Russia, to our great future and to the president of a great Russia!” Ta.
The last New People's Party candidate said he would never forget the pride he felt in Putin when he annexed Crimea in 2014.
“Have a happy holiday!” Putin shouted. “Long live Russia!”
As the crowd sang the Russian national anthem, men in military uniforms with pro-war “Z” patches and medals took to the stage and joined the singers in singing war ballads. “Give him the strength to win,” a chorus broke out.
Putin, 71, showed little of the emotion he has sometimes shown at similar events in the past, such as when he appeared to tear up during his victory speech after the 2012 election. He uttered his words without much enthusiasm during the national anthem and quickly left the event.
The celebrations make it clear that the war against Ukraine has become an organizing principle of Putin's regime, and that the Russian people are still fighting on the battlefield and preparing for what comes next in a country led by a new and brave leader. It was held while
Some of the large crowds gathered on Red Square, including government employees and students, were given tickets and in some cases asked to participate, as is common at pro-Kremlin rallies in Russia.
The 59-year-old social worker, who called herself Nadia and arrived waving a giant Russian flag and wearing an ethnic headdress known as kokoshniks, said she did not want war, but that the West needed to stop being hostile to Russia. he said. He said Russia needed to be respected and it was not up to Putin to end hostilities.
“It’s not up to us,” she said. “It's the West. Britain, America, they want to divide us into little colonies.”
The biggest worry for many Russians now is being drafted again as Mr. Putin doubles down on invasions.
A 29-year-old government analyst who attended the celebration and gave his name as Maksim said he voted for Mr. Putin because there were no other candidates as strong as him. However, he expressed sympathy for people living in Ukraine and Russian soldiers fighting on the front lines, and admitted that he feared new conscription.
“I worry about it, I worry about it every day,” he said. “I don't know what will happen tomorrow.”
There are also other concerns, from expectations for tax increases to the possibility of further crackdowns. Mr. Putin, newly elected to a fifth term, may reshuffle his cabinet, a typical post-election procedure, with Mr. Putin now bringing in the most hawkish members of the ruling elite. Some analysts believe it could be used to advance.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Center for Russia and Eurasia, said that Putin is a “vertical of power” (the general political system that Putin has honed as he turned Russia into a “state” after the collapse of the Soviet Union). It was predicted that the company would seek to renew its personnel (a term used in Japanese terms). Tyranny. He said he may seek to promote younger, more loyal and pro-war bureaucrats over the older generation of officials (mostly men born in the 1950s) who currently dominate the upper echelons of the regime. Ta.
“In times of war, 'young hawks' may be in ever greater demand,” she wrote.
Putin's inauguration is scheduled for May, and the Kremlin is planning to make this extravagant moment a televised ceremony to demonstrate Putin's control over the Russian state and set out his next course of action. This is an opportunity where there is a high possibility of giving a speech. Vision for the next six years.
But in the hours after Sunday's vote ended, Mr. Putin quickly made clear that his top priority was to continue the invasion of Ukraine until Kiev and the West agreed to a peace deal on Mr. Putin's terms.
At a press conference shortly after midnight, he said that what Russia wants is talks to build “long-term peaceful and neighborly relations,” and that Ukraine “needs a year and a half or two years to build peaceful, neighborly relations.” This is not an agreement that allows for a suspension of the Re-arm. ”
President Putin reiterated a warning he made last summer, saying Russia could seek to create a “security zone” in Ukrainian territory it does not currently control.
He did not provide details, but analysts said such a buffer zone would require an effort to seize parts of Ukraine's Kharkov region, an attack that could require new conscription. I think it's sexual.
But analysts also cautioned that it is difficult to predict how much will actually change, given the opacity of Putin's government. St. Petersburg political scientist Grigory Golosov said that as long as Putin replaces some senior officials, his priorities will be “loyalty first and effectiveness second.”
The outpouring of organized support for Mr. Putin on Red Square on Monday, broadcast nationwide on state television, showed that supporting the Russian leader is a patriotic and commonplace act. It was intended to convey.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, political scientists studying Russia found that perceptions of Mr. Putin's popularity drove actual support and helped him maintain power. Many Russians felt that everyone around them supported the Russian leader.
“People like to go with the crowd,” says Noah Buckley, professor of political science at Trinity College Dublin and co-author of the study. “People like to be on the winning side.”
Buckley noted that this type of support can quickly collapse if perceptions of popularity are undermined. But he said: “I certainly don't foresee that happening around this election or anytime soon.”
