Putin opponents expect to ‘be hunted at home and abroad’ after election

Allies of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have suggested that Vladimir Putin could be susceptible following his re-election, although dissidents expressed fears that repression of opponents could intensify even further. According to the İnews media outlet, the President returned to power with more than 87 percent of the vote in an election widely denounced as a sham.

Leonid Volkov, chief of staff at the Anti-Corruption Foundation – founded by Navalny – mentioned that the inflated vote share for Putin would give him a "false sense of confidence." Volkov noted that dictators such as Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu were overthrown shortly after achieving sweeping victories in compromised elections. Volkov, who was recently assaulted outside his home in Lithuania in an attack he attributed to the Russian regime, stated in a video address, "Dictators with significant percentages often meet a grim fate. The more ostentatious the demonstration of people’s adoration, the less genuine love there is."

Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, issued a message urging followers to continue their fight in the aftermath of the vote, advising them "not to dismiss their efforts because immediate results are lacking, but to exercise patience and persevere."

Daniil Ken, head of the Teacher’s Alliance trade union affiliated with the Navalny network, expressed encouragement from the "Noon Against Putin" campaign. In this campaign, supporters congregated at polling stations at noon on Sunday to vote for opposition candidates.