Effortless win for Putin

There were no surprises in Russia as Vladimir Putin coasted to an easy fourth term as President, giving him charge of the Kremlin for another six years while the country is undergoing momentous changes. Though the electoral field was lopsided and the lack of visible enthusiasm may have prompted ballot stuffing to puff up the voting percentage to respectable proportions, the current master of the Kremlin remains head and shoulders ahead of other pretenders for the office. Putin, in his 18 years at the helm, has obviously been successful in gaining the support of the Russian people by putting across arguments that sound valid. These tend to whitewash his regime’s heavy hand on expression of social discontent.

Democracies like old wine need an ecosystem and time to evolve. The challenge to Putin to loosen up political restrictions and restructure the economy will come in due course, but for now his regime in Kremlin has solid foundations. This ought to be welcome news to India which may have to look towards the Asian fold and revive old friendships now that its tilt towards the West is losing traction. Washington will want to make its talks with North Korea a success and has lost its appetite to bait China through the “Quad” in which India was to make itself useful to the West. Instead the US has virtually entered into a trade war with India by questioning its entire trade policy at the WTO. 

Among the changes being rung by Putin is an orientation of Russia’s interest vectors towards Asia. India has already experienced it with the revived Russian interest in oil and gas partnerships. India and Russia are also engaged in a unique partnership to build a nuclear plant in Bangladesh. The stability in Russian policy for the next six years offers India a unique opportunity to hammer out more joint forays in the strategic sphere. As long as Putin remains hemmed in by the West, India should find the terms of partnership agreeable. A more intimate Indo-Russian conversation is also likely to make India more desirable to the West.