Running essentially without an opponent, Vladimir Putin won the elections with a percentage of 87.2%.
This is a figure that is almost impossible for a candidate to achieve in a democracy.
However, in Russia, things are different. Since 1999, when the Russian president came into power, he managed to tailor the country to fit his needs.
The opposition has disappeared, there is no freedom of expression, and the media is controlled to serve him.
Thus, Vladimir Putin begins his new, and seemingly not final, term with a record percentage that strengthens his power and puts the final nail in the coffin of the few democratic elements remaining in the country.
Naturally, many wonder if the country can change course when the “tsar” steps down from power.
Because that will happen at some point.
Either due to age – after all, he won’t live forever – or because he will voluntarily step aside to pave the way for the next leader, or because someone or some people will overthrow him.
However, Russia, without Vladimir Putin, will not transform into a democracy overnight.
History teaches us that democratization is a lengthy process.
It is a challenging task to evolve a system built on the foundations of a totalitarian political system that then transformed into a corrupt kleptocracy, into a democracy that emphasizes political freedom and the rule of law.
The major problem for Russia, if there is no major upheaval, is the fact that those who seem capable of succeeding Vladimir Putin are not known for their democratic ideals.
On the contrary. They are a circle of middle-aged, elderly men with the same mindset and way of thinking. What they seek is to remain as close to power as possible, to benefit themselves and their surroundings.
Therefore, it is very likely that even when Vladimir Putin is out of the picture, Putinism will continue to exist.
The current regime will seek to maintain itself with a different figurehead but without changing at all.
The political and economic elite of Russia will ensure that the transition of power from Putin to someone else will be to someone just as… Putin-like.
