The 2024 elections in Russia are one of the most important of Vladimir Putin’s career.
A high turnout is expected together with strong support for Putin, with voters being manipulated to take part in person or through the new state-wide non-confidential e-voting system, which some regions are being forced to use. People are also being incentivised to vote with rewards of food, money and entertainment.
In this video commentary, Callum Fraser, Research Fellow, Russian and Eurasian Security, describes the decisions Putin will need to make following his re-election. Some of these are certain to be unpopular, with citizens living under increasingly deteriorating conditions as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions and Russia’s pivot to a war economy.
Thumbnail image: Kremlin