U.S. State Department Describes Recent Russian Presidential Elections as 'Undemocratic'

On Monday, the U.S. State Department's deputy spokesperson described the Russian presidential elections as 'undemocratic,' stating that the elections were 'neither free nor fair.' Vedant Patel, in response to a question about whether the Biden administration would recognize the election results with Vladimir Putin's victory, said, 'There will be no call from the United States to congratulate.' Some of Putin's opponents have urged Western countries not to recognize his victory. The deputy spokesperson further stated that Putin 'will likely remain the President of the Russian Federation, and this cannot be an excuse for his authoritarian methods.' According to the Russian Election Commission, over 87 percent of the counted votes by the end of Sunday were in favor of Putin, allowing him to remain in the Kremlin for another six-year term. To be re-elected as President of Russia for the fifth time, Vladimir Putin faced only three competitors in the three-day election that ended on Sunday, and the competition was not difficult. The deputy spokesperson referred to Putin's history of imprisoning political opponents, preventing some candidates from participating, especially those opposing his war in Ukraine, and the treatment of Alexei Navalny, who recently died mysteriously in prison, stating, 'This election took place in an atmosphere of severe repression and imprisonment of opponents.' Natalie Sabanadze, a senior researcher at the Chatham House think tank in the UK on Russia, said in an interview with Reuters, 'This type of repression will increase in the country... he (Putin) has embarked on a survival war.' America's European allies also have similar criticisms of the Russian elections. The 71-year-old Vladimir Putin has been in power for the longest time after Joseph Stalin. He was elected as acting president 25 years ago during the final days of Boris Yeltsin's presidency. Geeta Arian, a senior reporter for the Persian section of Voice of America, has primarily focused on foreign policy news; she began her journalism career in 1987 with work in radio and joined Voice of America in 2004.