In his crushing electoral victory, Vladimir Putin has won grudging legitimacy in the West

One may say that Vladimir Putin made his point to the Collective West in the latest presidential elections: that he enjoys enormous support among Russians which translates into legitimacy as Russia’s leader.

What can you say when 87% of the votes cast were for Putin and when the turnout of eligible voters was a record 77%.  Even the 350,000 votes cast by Russians living outside the country showed a similar result.

The West's malicious propaganda machine has long represented Pres. Putin as an autocratic despot, a new kind of czar. But if Russia was ruled by a czar they would be ecstatic. Here's the pretentious Atlanticist Neocon publication The Economist with one of its many snarky contributions to the slander campaign against the Russian leader. (Oct 26, 2017)

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In this regard it is entirely logical that in response to the election results we have not heard derogatory personal remarks coming from the occupant of the Oval Office in Washington, who in the not so distant past has called Putin a ‘crazy SOB,’ a ‘murderous dictator’ and a ‘pure thug.’  No, official Washington is speaking of Putin as the ‘leader of Russia,’ meaning that he is the ‘go to’ man if there are to be negotiations to end the Ukraine war, an idea that is very much on the minds of Washington elites now that their bet on Kiev has turned to dross, and calamity on the field of battle is not welcome for an incumbent when America enters the heat of its own electoral cycle.

Of course, Western leaders, and in particular European leaders, have been kicking the tires. The Opposition was silenced, we are told. German Chancellor Scholz said, “Russia is a dictatorship and is ruled in an authoritarian manner by Vladimir Putin,” per The Financial Times.  The FT also quotes British Foreign Minister David Cameron as saying, “Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.” That is a particularly fine observation from a cabinet member of a government that is likely to be dissolved following the abysmal electoral results it expects in May. Even the FT has been speculating these past few days that Rishi Sunak may be heaved out in the street soon.

But nowhere in all the grousing of Western leaders and of their subservient press do we hear the word “illegitimate” applied to Putin.  That word comes up only from a certain autocrat who has crowned himself in Kiev, namely Vladimir Zelensky.  We find the following quote attributed to him on his X account:

“The Russian dictator is simulating another election. Everone in the world understands that this figure has simply become addicted to power and is doing everything he can to rule forever…There is no legitimacy in this imitation of elections and there cannot be.”

However, contrary to its habitual coverage of only one side, what Kiev says, the FT today also gave coverage to Vladimir Putin’s public remarks celebrating his victory.  Per the FT,

“Putin also suggested he was more legitimate than Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has postponed elections originally scheduled for this year under martial law.”  

We all know why.  Zelensky would be lucky to get 5% of the votes in a free and fair election.

Possibly some FT readers will see which end is up in this exchange of compliments.

By the way, the viciously anti-Putin New York Times, also called a time out on vilifying the Russian leader. We find the following in the on-line Tuesday briefing this morning:

“The authorities said Putin had won more than 87 percent of the vote. For the most part, Russians do appear publicly supportive of Putin, though they have been given no real alternative.”

No real alternative?  Abstain!  They didn’t. No, the Russian public put paid to the cruel tyrant fantasies of our own clowns in high places. 

It should be mentioned as well that major broadcast media in the West gave air time to important segments of Putin’s victory speech yesterday. Their editorial boards must be eating their ties.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2024