After preordained election, Putin claims vote proves public support for his policies

By The Associated Press

President Vladimir Putin has thanked Russians for casting ballots in a presidential vote in which he cemented his grip on the country for another six years after the harshest crackdown on dissent since Soviet times. Any public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been stifled, independent media have been crippled, his fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month and other opposition activists are either in jail or in exile. Western leaders denounced the vote as a sham. Speaking in a video address after the announcement of the final results of the March 15-17 balloting which showed him winning 87% of the votes, Putin said they reflected strong public backing of his policies.