Russian President Vladimir Putin was sworn in today (Tuesday) for his fifth term in office after winning the elections held last March with 87% of the votes. This is the first time that a Russian president has been elected for a fifth term, and comes after Putin changed the constitution in 2020, extending the term limit.
Most Western countries boycotted the ceremony in Moscow against the background of the war in Ukraine and claims of a rigged election. The global boycott was led by Ukraine, which said in an official statement that it, "does not see a legal basis to recognize Putin as the elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation." The United Kingdom, the United States and many countries in the European Union also announced that they would not send a diplomatic representative to the inauguration ceremony.
The elections took place after many opposition candidates were disqualified from running, leaving candidates with no realistic chance of defeating the incumbent president. Last February, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison while serving a lengthy jail term. International experts accused the Putin regime of eliminating the activist.
