MOSCOW: Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed a vote for "stability" after his ruling party won a record number of seats at parliamentary polls amid a low turnout.
The Kremlin's United Russia scooped three quarters of the seats in the 450-member State Duma after bolstering its tally to over 54 percent at a nationwide vote Sunday, securing a majority despite the longest economic crisis of Putin's 16-year rule.
But the vote was marred by the lowest turnout for a parliamentary election in Russia's post-Soviet history, suggesting many are increasingly turned off by the Kremlin's total control over public discourse and posing potential questions over legitimacy.
"For United Russia this was a good result," Putin told his government on Monday.
"Given the current difficulties, the large amount of uncertainty and risks, people undoubtedly chose stability."
Sunday's election followed a tumultuous few years that have seen Russia seize the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine, sparking its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War, and the start of a military campaign in Syria.
And despite a bruising recession that has hit average Russians hard, Putin's approval rating remains around 80 percent.
Although he has not yet announced he is running, the strongman leader now looks set to stroll to victory in presidential elections in 2018.
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