Vladimir Putin, in power for a quarter of a century, faced three hand-picked and insignificant candidates. He was re-elected with more than 87% of the vote.
At least 74 arrests in Russia for various forms of election protests. The opposition has been decimated by years of repression that accelerated further with the conflict in Ukraine and culminated in the mysterious death of Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison in February. The Russian leader, who had the Constitution reformed in 2020 to be able to remain in charge of the country until 2036, has already served four terms.