President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia’s election on Sunday, cementing his already tight grip on power in a victory he said showed Moscow had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine.
Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, made it clear that the result should send a message to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia. The outcome means Putin, 71, is set to embark on a new six-year term that will see him overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years if he completes it.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday congratulated President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on his re-election.
On his X account the prime minister further posted that he looked forward to working with him to further strengthen Pakistan-Russian relations.
President Putin sealed his control over Russia for six more years on Monday with a predetermined landslide in an election that followed the harshest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times.
