Vladimir Putin triumphantly returns to the Kremlin. His persuasive success serves as proof to the West that a large part of Russia's population support the path that has been taken. The reaction of the Western media in the wake of the elections is as expected, but they do all admit that Putin as a politician stood head and shoulders above the other candidates. Nobody was in any doubt over his victory.
Leonid Polyakov Department Chairman of the Faculty of Political Sciences:
"The Western press has become used to portraying Putin as an unwanted, unpleasant character. They tend to present our elections in rather negative light".
The French newspaper "Le Figaro" has explained that Putin's victory was attained through the preliminary vetting of other candidates, and other such fabrications. The Spanish "Vanguardia" in contrast, has favourably compared the presidential elections to the parliamentary ones. Foreigners have been observing the video-monitoring of the polling booths with delight which, by their estimations, have surpassed all other world standards.
Leonid Polyakov, Department Chairman of the Faculty of Political Sciences:
"I don't see anything surprising in these results. The results are easy to check, the control over the process was of a very high level. The percentage of violations which were reported on election-day was very low. They will not have any influence over the final result".
The British newspaper "The Guardian", has advised Putin to formulate a new party in order to reach a consensus within society. In Russia, social problems are brewing, writes the publication, but nobody is looking for a revolution in the country. The "Financial Times" followed in the wake of the elections with the headline "Russian political life has woken anew from its dormancy." The newspaper cautioned that the West must now act prudently to "create a dialogue with the liberal opposition, but to avoid the crude promotion of democracy", and not to meddle with Russia's internal affairs.
Leonid Polyakov, Department Chairman of the Faculty of Political Sciences:
"The French newspaper "Le Figaro" can draw a comparison between the elections in Russia and France. The French may also say that the percentage of violations in Russia is a little higher, but this is not a reason to cast doubt over the legitimacy of the Russian election".
The British newspaper "The Times" attempted to understand how Putin related to his opponenets, and came to the following conclusion; of course, in practice the opposition presents a challenge for Putin, but he recognises the necessity for it to exist. The newspaper noted with satisfaction that Vladimir Putin, arriving to cast his vote, finally appeared in public with his wife Lyudmila, who has once again become the First Lady of Russia.
