Putin hails election victory

Vladimir Putin said Russia would not be “intimidated” as he hailed an election victory that will make the former spy the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years.

All of the 71-year-old’s major opponents are dead, in prison or exiled, and he has overseen an unrelenting crackdown on anybody who publicly opposes his rule or his military offensive in Ukraine.

“I want to thank all of you and all citizens of the country for your support and this trust,” Putin told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow early Monday, hours after polls closed.

“No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness — no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never,” he added.