Why Putin's rigged Russian election still matters

Russia’s presidential election doesn’t take place until March – yet we already know the result. Vladimir Putin will beat the other 3 ‘candidates’ with ease to retake his place as president. But does that mean the vote doesn’t matter at all? Or could we still learn something from the result? Chris Jones talks to András Tóth-Czifra, fellow in the Eurasia program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of Controlling the Narrative: A Roadmap to Russia’s 2024 Presidential Election, in The Bunker.  • “These elections are not taking place in a democracy – so it would be foolish to analyse them as if they were.” – András Tóth-Czifra • 'For the Kremlin this is a vital test of the officialdom – the political machinery that the federal government relies on to control the country.’ András Tóth-Czifra András’ research: https://www.fpri.org/article/2023/12/controlling-the-narrative-a-roadmap-to-russias-2024-presidential-election/  Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and Presented by Chris Jones. Produced by: Eliza Davis Beard and Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices