New Delhi: After claiming victory in yet another presidential election, Vladimir Putin, one of Russia’s longest-serving leaders, broke his silence on the death of his nemesis — Alexei Navalny — in a Russian prison.
The Russian oligarch referred to Navalny’s death as a “sad event” but something that “happens”.
Talking to NBC News on 18 March after his victory, Putin said that prison deaths are not an uncommon occurrence. “Has nothing like that ever happened in the US?” he retorted. “It happens. There is nothing you can do about it. It’s life.”
Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician, died in February amid his 19-year incarceration on charges of extremism — a verdict he vehemently denounced as a political witch hunt. His allies, family members and Western officials blamed the death on the Kremlin, accusations it has rejected.
While this is the first time Putin has commented on Navalny’s sudden death — something he has been accused of being maliciously involved in — it is one of the very few times the media has recorded him uttering Navalny’s name. Reports suggest that Putin always referred to his arch-political rival as “that gentleman” or “that character”.
Meanwhile, Putin’s comments were termed cynical by Navalny’s supporters, while his team blamed Putin for the death of the Russian politician.
In a video posted online, Maria Pevchikh, Navalny’s political aide, claimed that discussions around a prisoner exchange were underway where Navalny would have been released to the West.
To avoid this exchange and also prevent Navalny from being free, he was killed by Putin’s government, Pevchikh alleged. Meanwhile, after Navalny’s death, his supporters have taken to the streets in Russia and abroad.
On 18 March, Putin, while speaking to the media, confirmed that a prison swap was an idea he had agreed to. “But unfortunately, the thing that happened, happened,” he added.
Despite his victory with 87.8 percent of the vote — the highest ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history according to an exit poll by pollster Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) — Putin continues to remain infamous for allegedly cracking down on dissent and for curbing any kind of opposition, including harassment of Opposition leaders and imprisonment.
While the Kremlin claims a high voter turnout this election — with a 10 percent increase from the previous one — international commentators, especially from the West, have called the election “managed”.
Amid these events, the world has witnessed other significant developments. ThePrint brings you a weekly update on news from around the world that you might have missed.
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Vietnam loses second president
Vietnam’s political landscape, traditionally characterised by its stability, has been shaken by the abrupt resignation of a second president within a span of just over a year — signaling a period of persistent political upheaval.
Vo Van Thuong has stepped down from his role as Vietnam’s President, as reported by the nation’s press. His predecessor Nguyen Xuan Phuc was forced to resign in 2023 on charges of corruption.
The Parliament has named Vice-President Vo Thi Anh Xuan as acting president, a job she shortly held last year when the former president quit, according to a Reuters report. “The election may take place in May when Parliament holds its next regular plenary session, unless a special meeting is convened earlier,” the report added.
Thuong’s resignation comes amid the aggressive anti-corruption drive initiated by the ruling Communist Party, targeting thousands of officials, bureaucrats, and ministers, according to media reports.
The 53-year-old politician had “violated party rules” and his “shortcomings had negatively impacted public opinion’,” the party held.
While Thuong was the youngest president of the country, he will also be remembered as one with the shortest tenure.
Meanwhile, the consecutive resignations of two presidents in such a short time frame have raised alarms among political analysts.
This is “not a good sign” Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the Vietnam studies program under the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, told the Guardian, suggesting that this pattern is a troubling indicator for the country’s political stability.
Vietnam, with its “bamboo diplomacy”, is one of the top destinations for international investment. According to another Reuters report, to bolster its position, one of the country’s powerful figures, Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, used in 2021 the imagery of “strong roots, stout trunk, and flexible branches” of the bamboo plant to describe Vietnam’s foreign policy approach of having “more friends, fewer foes”.
Meanwhile, following this political upheaval, the upcoming visits of the World Bank president and the Dutch royal family have been postponed.
EU commissioner welcomes Bosnia
The European Union (EU) has taken a significant step towards expansion by initiating accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The announcement came from European Council President Charles Michel via a social media post Thursday, where he hailed this development as a key moment for Bosnia.
The European Council has just decided to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Congratulations!
Your place is in our European family.
Today’s decision is a key step forward on your EU path. Now the hard work needs to continue so Bosnia and Herzegovina… pic.twitter.com/LyotNa5gGc
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) March 21, 2024
Bosnia’s journey towards EU integration began with its formal application in 2016, followed by years of preparatory support from the EU, including the appointment of a special envoy and monetary support as pre-accession assistance to Bosnia. It was only in 2022 that Bosnia achieved the status of an official candidate.
To join the EU, countries have to go through various reforms and attain standards set by the bloc while aligning laws and policies conducive to the EU’s values.
EU accession is a transformative prospect for Bosnia, a nation still healing from the ethnic conflicts that marked the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Ethnic disparities in the Bosnian society have delayed the constitutional, judicial, and electoral reforms and in turn, led to delays in getting the EU membership. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled the Bosnian elections to be undemocratic and unfair to certain ethnicities.
While the EU’s decision is unanimous, it comes with certain stipulations.
The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that there is still “a lot of work that needs to be done”, while Lithuania stressed that Bosnia must follow the rules and fulfil all criteria.
The Netherlands, which was one of the countries that had in the past opposed Bosnia from joining the bloc, also wants all the requirements to be fulfilled. Echoing a sentiment of cautious optimism, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is reported to have said that despite outstanding issues, the conversation must be taken forward as was done with Ukraine.
In the aftermath of the conflict in Ukraine, the EU’s strategic interest in integrating the Balkans, including Eastern Europe, has intensified. Other countries — Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia — are at different stages in the process of gaining EU membership.
Protests in Cuba
Cuba is witnessing some of its largest anti-government demonstrations, with throngs of citizens across at least four cities voicing their frustration over acute shortages of food and power.
The nation’s economic woes, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, have deepened with the communist government’s food rationing measures per household and the sting of US sanctions.
While President Miguel Diaz-Canel asserted that the government is ready to talk to the protesters, “attend to” their complaints, and engage in a “dialogue”, he also hinted at the role of “terrorists” based in Miami in stirring up protests, according to media reports.
According to political experts, the crisis stems from Cuba’s struggle to finance essential imports, particularly fuel, which is vital for the country’s oil-dependent electricity generation.
“Around 95 percent of Cuba’s electricity is produced by power plants that burn oil,” Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist at American University in Washington D.C. told NPR News.
Cuba is grappling with extensive power outages, sometimes lasting over 14 hours, and widespread food scarcity.
This dire situation has driven many Cubans to migrate, while others have taken to the streets in protest shouting slogans like “we want food”, “electricity”, and “hunger”, local news media reported. Social media in the country, too, was filled with images and videos from the protests.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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