Putin sees the governing party's huge gain in recent parliamentary elections as a vote of confidence in his government, despite a low voter turnout which suggests broad public apathy and dismay with the political process.
United Russia, the main party supporting Putin, expanded its grip on parliament, winning three-quarters of the seats, the Central Elections Commission said Monday.
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"The results of the vote reflect our citizens' reaction to attempts of foreign pressure on Russia, to sanctions, to attempts to destabilize the situation in our country from within," Putin said.
He pledged to continue a foreign policy "devoid of any signs of aggressiveness, but with unconditional observance of our national interests and securing the nation's defense capability."
The immense gain of more than 100 seats for United Russia, which held a majority in the previous parliament, raises it above the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution on its own.
United Russia's gains came at the expense of three other parties that had largely complied with the Kremlin's wishes. The Communists will have 42 seats in the new Duma, a sharp drop from 92, the nationalist Liberal Democrats 39 and A Just Russia 23.
Two other seats were won by candidates from small parties and one by an independent. In contrast to the two previous elections, only half the seats in this election were chosen by national party list; the others were contested by single-seat districts.
— JIM HEINTZ and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press
