Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is his opinion that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the ‘number-one politician’ in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no presidential challengers ahead of the upcoming election, the Kremlin says.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that there was no contest against Putin ahead of the next presidential election next year.
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“We have repeatedly said that President Putin is undoubtedly the number one politician and statesman in our country,” Peskov said, according to translations from The Moscow Times.
Peskov, in his role as government spokesman, aggressively pushed for Putin’s continued leadership of the country.
“In my personal opinion, he currently has no rivals and could have none in the Russian Federation,” the spokesman said on Tuesday.
Peskov has previously dismissed concerns about democratic integrity in the country’s elections.
In an article published on August 6, Dmitry Peskov told the New York Times, “Our presidential election is not really a democracy, but an expensive bureaucratic process. Mr. Putin is expected to be re-elected next year with an overwhelming majority. Over 90 percent of the vote.”
Peskov further elaborated this view in a subsequent interview with Russian state media outlet RBK, saying, “Elections are necessary for a democratic system, and Putin himself decided to hold them. However, in theory, they may not even be necessary. .”
He added, “Because it is clear that Putin can win. This is purely my personal view.”
Vladimir Putin is known for adopting authoritarian methods and wielding political power against critics and dissenters.
The Russian government has been implicated in the intimidation, detention, and assassination of journalists and political opponents.