Putin’s investiture. Is He Or Isn’t He President? The editorial-manifesto of a publication banned in Russia

Novaia Gazeta Europe, a newspaper forced to operate from Latvia after being banned in Russia, says that the world did not witness Putin’s inauguration on Tuesday, but the usurpation of power.

“Vladimir Putin, through Tuesday’s investiture ceremony, is trying to legitimize his fifth presidential term, claiming that the people democratically elected him to the highest state office” in Russia, begins the editorial published by the independent Russian newspaper.

“In fact, Putin carried out a coup d’état in 2020, when he rewrote the Constitution (of Russia – no) to allow himself to run for a fifth term”, underlines the editors of the quoted publication.

Novaia Gazeta Europe then lists a series of issues that question the validity of the presidential elections held in Russia on March 15-17.

“Putin has consistently repressed his political opponents, and the election was held in the absence of any independent candidate,” as well as “in the absence of any independent observer,” the Russian newspaper reports.

At the same time, continues the cited source, the elections took place “under conditions of military censorship”, with “dozens of independent media institutions banned and prevented from doing their work”.

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“Between 20 and 30 million votes were fake in the March elections,” accuses Novaia Gazeta Europe.

The newspaper also notes that the regime in power in Russia does not accept criticism of its war against Ukraine and considers it a crime.

Taking these aspects into account, Novaia Gazeta Europe writes that it refuses to recognize the March 2024 elections as legitimate or to name Putin as the “president of Russia”.

“We call on all independent media outlets to join our decision to stop naming the Russian dictator as president. (Russia – no) today did not mark the inauguration of the president, but the usurpation of power”, concludes the newspaper led by journalist Dmitri Muratov, laureate in 2021 with the Nobel Peace Prize.

Founded on April 1, 1993, Novaya Gazeta Europe was forced to cease operations in Russia a month after the full-scale war in Ukraine began due to the Kremlin’s crackdown on voices that do not follow its narrative lines. The newspaper reappeared on April 7, 2022, in Latvia.

Nine Novaya Gazeta journalists have been killed since Putin came to power in Russia as prime minister in August 1999, then as acting president on the last day of that year, and finally as president in the spring of 2000. The the most famous case is that of Anna Politkovskaia, killed on April 7, 2006, the Kremlin leader’s birthday.

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Vladimir Putin has twice amended the Russian Constitution to extend his stay in the Kremlin. The latest amendment allows him to present himself as a “candidate” also in 2030 for a sixth term. In theory, Putin could rule Russia until 2036, when he would be 84 years old.