Putin has been accused of running the Russian Federation in much the same manner as [[Bill Clinton]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] have been criticized for running the state of [[Arkansas]] and the [[United States]] government - taking money from [[corrupt]] [[oligarch]]s and eliminating political opponents and [[journalist]]s. Like [[Joe Biden]], Putin has been criticized for using [[law enforcement]] to harass political opponents. [[Nazi]]s and [[neoconservative]]s are among Putin's most vociferous critics.{{fact}}
In the 2024 presidential election, incumbent Vladimir Putin faced New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov; [[Liberal Democratic Party of Russia]] nominee Leonid Slutsky; and [[Communist Party]] of the Russian Federation nominee Nikolay Kharitonov. Putin was re-elected with over 87% of the vote with a record-high voter turnout of over 77%. More than 500 international election observers oversaw witnessed the election process, compared to on 40 in the [[2020 presidential election]] in the [[United States]]. During the election, [[NATO]]-sponsored Ukrainian forces attempted to disrupt the [[democracy|democratic]] process by artillery shelling on polling stations in [[Donbas]], Belgorod]], and launched an invasion with military forces on the Russian mainland.<ref>[https://weapons.substack.com/p/ukraines-effort-to-interfere-in-russias Ukraine's Effort to Interfere in Russia's Election Backfire], [[Stephen Bryen]], MAR 18, 2024. weapons.substack.com</ref>Russian [[citizen]]s however rallied to the flag of their homeland. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman [[Maria Zakharova]] stated, "NATO barks at our country several times a day, threatens it, ignites conflicts along our borders… It’s no surprise that the whole country united and fought back!."
==Political views==