Secret Kremlin paper

This is what Putin plans after his coronation in the election farce

Putin in the voting booth: he already knows the result. And still has a lot planned after his election victory.

(Bild: AFP)

"The important thing is not who votes for what, the important thing is who counts." Vladimir Putin has taken this quote attributed to Stalin to heart. He is holding elections on three days. On Sunday, he will reveal the result, which he already knows. A secret Kremlin document reveals what the president plans to do after his coronation.

Elections in dictatorship regimes are not held to determine a winner, but to show mass mobilization behind the leader. This is why voter turnout is the Kremlin leader's most important concern. But Putin should not really be worried. Although there are signs of war-weariness, Kremlin propaganda has succeeded in turning a war of aggression into a defensive war against the West. So it is not just Putin's war, but the war of the Russian people. And the lack of successes or the attempted coup by the Prigozhin militia (for the time being) are irrelevant.

What will happen after the coronation? A leaked Kremlin document, which originates from a circle of advisors and bears the note "approved" by Putin, sheds light on this.