Putin receives congratulations from China, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Venezuela… but there's silence from the West after election victory
- Vladimir Putin won Russia's election on Sunday, claiming 77 per cent of the vote
- Strongman governments in China, Venezuela and Egypt sent congratulations
- But majority of western democracies remained silent on Monday morning
- Relations between Putin and the West are at a low ebb following the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in England, which the UK has blamed on Russia
Strongman governments from around the world lined up to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his election victory on Monday morning amid silence from the West.
China, Venezuela and Egypt were among the first to send their good wishes to Putin along with the likes of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Iran, all of whom are staunch allies.
But most western countries remained silent amid tensions over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Sailsbury, which the UK has blamed on Russia.
China's Xi Jinping led strongman governments from around the world in paying tributes to Vladimir Putin following his election victory on Sunday
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also offered his congratulations, along with other staunch allies of Russia including Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Putin (pictured on Monday at his campaign headquarters) claimed to have won 77 per cent of the vote on a 67 per cent turnout on Sunday amid widespread allegations of fraud
Germany was the only country to release a statement on Monday morning, with foreign minister Heiko Maas saying Russia remained 'a difficult partner'.
A statement will be issued by Chancellor Angela Merkel later in the day, he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Putin later on Monday, wishing him 'success' while expressing concern over the war in Syria and the spy poisoning.
China's Xi Jinping led the congratulations with a telegram which said: 'Currently, the comprehensive, strategic Russian-Chinese cooperation and partnership, are at an unprecedented high level.
'[They] have served as an example of a new type of international relations, based on mutual respect, equality and mutually beneficial cooperation.'
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulated Putin on his 'decisive victory' and pledged to boost ties.
'I am sure that during your new term, relations between our two countries will develop further,' he said.
Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro, who has crushed protests calling for him to resign amid his deeply unpopular leadeship, also paid tribute to Putin's victory.
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's new strongman, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father King Salman sent congratulations and wished Putin 'constant good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity'.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev and Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev were also among those singing Putin's praises.
Cuba's Raul Castro was also sent his early good wishes.
Japan's Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had congratulated Putin and they agreed to work together for North Korea's denuclearisation.
'The two leaders confirmed their close cooperation in realising North Korea's denuclearisation' before an expected summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the ministry said.
Britain's Theresa May, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel all remained silent over Putin's victory on Monday morning, though Macron did later call Putin and offer his congratulations, while criticising the war in Syria
It comes after former double-agent Sergei Skripal (right) and his daughter Yulia (left) were poisoned with nerve agent Novichok, which the UK blamed on Russia
Putin claimed victory in Sunday's ballot with 77 per cent of the vote, his highest ever share, amid a reported 67 per cent turnout.
The vote allows him to rule for another six years after which he will be forced to retire at the age of 71, if the Russian constitution remains unchanged.
However, election officials were caught stuffing ballot boxes in Moscow with voting slips amid widespread allegations of fraud.
Other voters complained of goons around polling stations making sure people voted 'the right way', while in the region of Stavropol Krai, which only has 35 registered home voters, 50 home ballots were counted.
Putin's opponents all denounced the process as unfair following their defeats.
Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky - who came third - said rigging was so great that Putin's real level of support in a free poll would be no more than 40 per cent.
Communist candidate and runner-up Pavel Grudinin said the poll was 'dishonest' and 'the dirtiest' since the Soviet Union collapsed.
'Regretfully, [opposition politician Alexei] Navalny was right. One can vote two or three times, and there are such examples in Moscow region.'
Navalny - seen as the biggest threat to Putin - was banned from standing but his calls for a boycott of the election flopped if the turnout figure is accurate.
CCTV cameras in districts of Moscow captured election officials stuffing ballots into the boxes amid widespread allegations of voter fraud
An election official places filled-out voting slips into a ballot box in Moscow
Opponent Vladimir Zhirinovsky said Putin fraudulently doubled his vote share, while Pavel Grudinin said the ballot was the dirtiest since the fall of the Soviet Union
The independent mayor of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman warned of a lurch towards authoritarianism with Putin back in the Kremin.
'The quality of life will get progressively worse,' he said.
'But each new election turnout will be higher, the president's rating will keep rising — and North Korea will grow closer and closer.'
Zhirinovsky - aged 71 and a veteran of six presidential elections - said: 'There is no democracy [in Russia], there is no competition.
'[There is] just one candidate from the Kremlin and all others are 'pugs'.
'In reality, Putin should have a lesser percentage.'
His genuine figure in a free European-style election would be 'no more than 40 per cent', he insisted.
The only female candidate, TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak, said sarcastically: 'I do acknowledge that today Putin enjoys majority support, secured by various methods.'
She described a 'dirty campaign…particularly…the arrests of our supporters in various cities, as well as attempts at intimidating us.'
Alexei Navalny, a Putin opponent who was banned from running in this election, dismissed the president's other challengers as 'puppets'
Navalny was barred from the election but encouraged people not to vote and oversaw anti-corruption efforts from his Moscow headquarters (pictured)
Following the victory Putin told a crowd of 30,000 people in the capital's Red Square that Russia has a great future ahead of it provided its people stayed united, adding: 'Think about the future of our great motherland'.
Before leaving the stage to applause, he led the crowd in a chant of 'Russia, Russia!'
He also laughed off a question about whether he would run for another term in office after 2024.
Putin said he regarded the query about whether he would seek yet another term in six years' time as 'funny.'
'Let's count. What, do you think I will sit (in power) until I'm 100 years old?' he told the reporter who asked him the question.
A spokesman for Putin told Interfax news agency it was an 'incredible victory', adding: 'The percentage that we have just seen speaks for itself. It's a mandate which Putin needs for future decisions, and he has a lot of them to make'.
The statement came as Europe's Organisation for Security and Cooperation said the election was marred by a lack of 'genuine competition', though was well conducted.
'Restrictions on the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression... have limited the space for political engagement and resulted in a lack of genuine competition,' the organisation said.
But it added that Russia's Central Election Commission administered the process 'efficiently and openly'.
Seigei Skripal, a Russia former double-agent in the pay of Britain's MI6, was found collapsed in Salisbury on March 4 alongside his daughter Yulia, both of whom are now in a coma.
Putin told a crowd of 30,000 supporters in the Red Square that Russia has a great future ahead of it, provided the country stays united
Putin led the crowd in chants of 'Russia, Russia!' before leaving the stage on Sunday night
Last week Prime Minister Theresa May revealed Skripal had been poisoned with a chemical weapon called Novichok, which was developed by Russia, and subsequently accused the state of being behind the attempted assassination.
France, Germany and the US then issued a joint statement backing the UK, saying there is 'no plausible alternative explanation'.
Russia had accused the UK of trying to use the scandal to swing the result.
Alexei Navalny, a political opponent of Putin seen as the only realistic challenger to his leadership, was banned from running in Sunday's race.
He had encouraged voters not to participate in the 'fraudulent' process, though his words fell on deaf ears if official figures are to be believed.
Navalny also oversaw anti-corruption efforts from his headquarters in Moscow.
Putin's victory will extend his total time in office to nearly a quarter of a century, until 2024, by which time he will be 71.
Only Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ruled for longer.
Putin has promised to use his new term to beef up Russia's defences against the West and to raise living standards.
He is poised to shake-up his regime after the victory, with lacklustre premier Dmitry Medvedev tipped for the axe by the scheduled 7 May inauguration date.
Veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who led the charge against Britain in the current nerve agent spy scandal, is also set to depart.
Putin is seen as wanting to revitalise his regime by propelling younger cadres into power and grooming an ultra-loyal successor to protect himself from corruption charges in his retirement.
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