Vladimir Putin who officially resumed office as president after his inauguration on Monday complimented the work of election commissions during the presidential polls in March.
The presidential elections and the preceding parliamentary vote in December gave rise to unprecedented protests across the nation, which resumed in the past three days but at a lesser scale. Putin accused the United States of backing opposition leaders.
“I know it was not an easy task… you worked in a complicated political environment,” he said addressing Vladimir Churov, head of the Central Election Commission. “Let’s do everything to guarantee the rights, freedoms of Russian people, including voting rights.”
The presidential elections saw Putin win a landslide victory with over 60% of the votes. Protesters have accused the authorities and election bodies of stealing their vote.