Patrick Ryan ’27
A Serious Columnist
Vladimir Putin, unsurprisingly, retained his control over Russia for another six years by winning a fifth term of his presidency last week. As reported by the Kremlin, Putin allegedly won 87 percent of the vote- a higher percentage than any of his previous elections. Putin’s victory followed some of the harshest crackdowns on opposition since the Soviet era of Russian politics. Opposition to his regime are either imprisoned or silenced, and the Russian population’s ability to protest is discouraged instead of protected. Since his first election in 2000, Putin has continuously asserted increasing control over the Russian government, transforming the once-promising federation into an absolute autocracy. The former KGB agent’s despotic reign has been marked by brutal oppression of ethnic groups in the Caucuses, the seizure of Crimea, and the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Considering the war’s general unpopularity with the Russian people, it is likely that Putin will double-down on his imperialistic ambitions in order to maintain supreme power and silence opposition. For NATO and other western allies, this election signals that the struggle for Russian hegemony over its former soviet socialist republics will continue for at least another decade. However, taking into account the abysmal state of Russian elections, it is more likely that this conflict will continue until Putin’s death or improbable removal from power.
Holy Cross nobly released a statement to student inboxes concerning the election writing, “We acknowledge that as a college we agreed to stop issuing statements. However, the stakes are too high to remain silent. Vladimir Putin’s orchestrated election is not only a threat to democracy, but a threat to Holy Cross.” Many students were unable to see the connection between Russian politics and a college in central Massachusetts, but the College has remained adamant in their position.
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died less than two months ago, comes to mind when characterizing the deplorable state of Russian politics. Navalny spent his adult life speaking out against the injustices of the Russian government and the corruption of the ruling party. He endured politically motivated imprisonment and survived a nerve gas assassination attempt in 2020. Tragically, after being sentenced to 19 years in a Siberian penitentiary, Navalny was reported dead at 47. Navalny’s death embodies Putin’s utter dominance over Russian politics for the last quarter century. While Putin commented on his greatest critic’s passing as an “unfortunate incident,” it’s likely his true opinion could not be farther from this statement. As the president consolidates more and more power, one can only hope that his lust for conquering is only held back by his fear of western unity. Unfortunately, no single man has ever had complete control over nuclear weapons as Putin does now. May God protect the United States, and the world, from utter destruction.
Image Courtesy of PBS
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