The company to increase turnout was effective. Somewhere there were real holidays with festivities, horse riding, performances of creative teams, fairs, the work of field kitchens with pancakes and porridges. The people woke up and reached for polling stations.
This weekend for the first time in the presidential elections, Crimea participated. There foreign observers were surprised by the activity of voters. There was no question of any sabotage of the elections. The abundance of people on the streets and in a cafe resembled a holiday. At polling stations, everything was transparent, surprising the mood of people and their activity.
Out of 109 million potential voters, more than 55 million voted. 76.65% of votes given for Vladimir Putin. The candidate from the Communist Party Pavel Grudinin collected 11.82%, Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPR) 5.68%, Ksenia Sobchak - 1.66% Grigory Yavlinsky, Boris Titov, Maxim Suraykin and Sergei Baburin for 1 and less than 1 percent.
The day ended with a rally-concert at the Manege Square in Moscow, at which Vladimir Putin, at that time already an obvious leader of the elections, thanked everyone for their support.
The gap between the number of votes given for Putin and the following candidates leaves no room for fantasy. During the last elections, almost everything was done to ensure protection for every voice. Thanks to video cameras at two polling stations, attempts were made to throw in ballots. The urns were immediately sealed, the voting on them was canceled, the members of the commissions were suspended from work. They are most likely to face trial and punishment.
There were fake casts to create the impression of illegitimate elections. The case was delivered professionally, nearly 750 fakes were prepared. But even this did not pass. According to observers, the election went smoothly. Honorary Member of the French Parliament, co-chairman of the "Franco-Russian Dialogue" Thierry Mariani said: "Our delegation could state that the elections were held in accordance with the norms that, in particular, exist in Europe". Even higher is the assessment of international observer, secretary of the political party "New Serbian Democracy" Marco Kovacevic:
"I would say that this is one of the purest elections in the whole of Europe". The Italian observer, Member of the European Parliament Stafan Maullu said: "The people of Russia actively participated in the elections on March 18. This is the sign that Europe must accept and respect ".
Vladimir Putin has already received congratulations from foreign colleagues from China, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Serbia, Bolivia, Republika Srpska as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany.