Exit polls showed Vladimir Putin winning another six-year term as Russian president on Sunday, paving the way for the former spy to become Russia’s longest-serving leader in over 200 years.
Following his historic 87% victory, President Putin addressed the people of Russia. Here are the key points from his speech and a question-and-answer session at campaign headquarters in Moscow on Sunday night. “I dreamed of a strong, independent, sovereign Russia,” Putin told the audience, expressing his hope that the results of the vote “will allow us all, together with the Russian people, to achieve these goals.”
The 71-year-old president said.
“Due to the current situation, due to the fact that we have to literally defend the interests of our citizens, our people with weapons in our hands, to create a future for the full-fledged, sovereign, secure development of the Russian Federation, our homeland.”
After voting ended in Russia’s westernmost territory, Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, the government-run VTsIOM pollster predicted Putin would easily win with 87% of the vote.
The 2024 election showed a record-high voter turnout of over 74%, with Putin winning over 87% of the vote.
The Russian leader noted that while the results would be good for a mono-ethnic state – for a multi-ethnic country like Russia they are “uniquely exceptional.”
The Russian president noted that while the country faces many challenges, the country will be able to tackle it if citizens remain united.
“We have a lot of tasks ahead of us. And when we are united, no one can intimidate or suppress us. No one succeeded at this before, it did not happen now and will never occur in the future.”