UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 595 - OCTOBER 9, 2023

The Kremlin continues to strive to promote the alleged legality and legitimacy of Russian domestic politics, although Kremlin officials admit the opposite.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on October 9 to the proposal from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on October 7 to cancel the presidential elections planned for 2024 and instead hold a unanimous election for Russian President Vladimir Putin by stating that this will not happen, as Putin "has emphasized the need to meet all the requirements of democracy and the constitution and accordingly to hold these elections." Peskov further claimed that Russian society stands with unprecedented unity behind Putin and stated that Putin is "a politician with whom it is unlikely that anyone could compete in any way in the elections, even theoretically."

Peskov's remarks suggest that while the Kremlin wants to create the impression that the 2024 elections will be free and fair by encouraging Russians to at least nominally participate in democratic practices, the Russian government does not want an alternative political candidate to pose a real threat to Putin's re-election. The Russian opposition newspaper Meduza reported in July that their internal sources claimed that the Kremlin had already decided that Putin would receive more than 80 percent of the vote in the next presidential elections.

The complete Russian Offensive Update 595 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANDING WAR