By holding his inauguration in Moscow today, Vladimir Putin is attempting to confer legitimacy on his fifth presidential term by claiming that his people democratically elected him to Russia’s highest office.
In fact, Putin staged a coup in 2020 when he rewrote the constitution to allow him to run for a fifth term.
No independent candidates were allowed to run in the March 2024 elections.
Putin has consistently cracked down on his political opponents.
Between 20 and 30 million fake votes for Putin were cast in the March election.
The elections went ahead under conditions of military censorship, with dozens of independent media outlets outlawed and unable to do their work.
No independent election observers were allowed to oversee the vote.
Criticising Putin’s war against Ukraine is now a crime in Russia.
As a result, Novaya Gazeta Europe refuses to recognise the March 2024 election as legitimate or to refer to Putin as the president of Russia.
We call on all independent media outlets to join us in our decision to cease referring to the Russian dictator as the president.
Instead of marking the inauguration of the Russian president, today marks the subversion of power in the country.