On Monday, Britain’s foreign minister, David Cameron, remarked on the results of the Russian elections, stressing the apparent extent of repression under President Vladimir Putin‘s leadership.
Putin’s landslide victory in securing a fifth term as president was lauded by the Kremlin as a compelling testament to the steadfast backing of the populace.
Cameron, who had earlier stated on Sunday evening that the election did not meet the standards of freedom and fairness, dismissed the outcome of the poll as undemocratic.
“These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war (in Ukraine),” he said in a statement.
“Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy,” he added.
The Kremlin has framed the weekend election, tainted by ballot tampering and Ukrainian attacks on border areas, as evidence of Russian support for Putin’s actions against Ukraine.
Cameron pointed to the demise of Alexei Navalny, Putin’s main political opponent, as yet another illustration of the depth of Putin’s authoritarian rule.
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“The death of Alexei Navalny just weeks before the election was a tragic reminder of the severity of political repression in Russia today.”
Russia should “immediately release all political prisoners”, including British-Russian dual-national Vladimir Kara-Murza, he added.
Opposition politician Kara-Murza, 42, was jailed last April for 25 years — the harshest sentence so far for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
Accused of “treason” after his speech in the United States, he faced legal repercussions for his assertion that Russia had engaged in “war crimes” against Ukraine.
The serious health complications plaguing Kara-Murza, according to his legal representatives, are the result of two suspected poisoning plots orchestrated by Russia’s FSB security service in 2015 and 2017.