The United States and most European Union countries boycotted the inauguration ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Vladimir Putin swore allegiance to the Russian Constitution as he took office for his fifth term as president, proclaiming that the country would emerge victorious and strengthened from the current “difficult” period as he further consolidated his power.
Tuesday’s ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace was boycotted by the United States, the United Kingdom and several European Union countries in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We are a united and great nation,” Putin said in his optimistic inaugural speech to applause from an audience of around 2,500 people.
“Together we will overcome all obstacles, achieve everything we have planned and together we will win,” was his message to the Russian people as he began another six-year term.
The 71-year-old won the March election with 87.28 percent of the vote in a poll that analysts said lacked democratic legitimacy after several candidates opposed to the war in Ukraine were barred from running by the electoral commission .
It came weeks after the death of his rival Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony. Other leading critics were either imprisoned or forced to flee abroad.
“Liar, thief, murderer”
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, called on her supporters on Tuesday to continue the fight against Putin, whom she called a “liar, thief and murderer.”
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters: “We certainly did not view this election as free and fair, but he is the president of Russia and he will continue to serve in that role.”
The ceremony came a day after Russia announced a tactical nuclear weapons exercise, blaming “provocative” moves by Western countries toward Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than two years ago.
Ukraine said it saw no legal reason to recognize him as the “democratically elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the swearing-in ceremony sought to “create the illusion of legality for the almost lifelong stay in power of a person who turned the Russian Federation into an aggressor state and the ruling regime into a dictatorship.”
Ukraine does not recognize Vladimir Putin as the democratically elected and legitimate President of the Russian Federation.
🔗 Full MFA statement: https://t.co/HQfPCzswDy
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) May 6, 2024
Putin thanked the soldiers involved in the war and called them “heroes” who fought for “the motherland.”
“We look forward with confidence,” he said in his speech, which was broadcast on national television.
“I assure you that the interests and security of the Russian people will continue to be my top priority,” he said.
While the Russian leader said he did not rule out dialogue with Western countries, he insisted that it must be conducted on equal terms and “with respect for mutual interests.”
“The choice is yours: Do you want to continue trying to contain Russia, continue the policy of aggression and sustained pressure on our country for years, or look for a path to cooperation and peace?”
Russian and Ukrainian troops were hit hard in the war, causing numerous casualties on both sides. But in Ukraine, which is struggling with a shortage of soldiers and weapons, Russian forces are gaining ground.
Putin has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999. Critics say his legacy has been one of war, slow economic growth and oppression over the past nearly 25 years.
At the start of a new term, the Russian government is routinely dissolved so that Putin can appoint a new prime minister and cabinet.