Vladimir Putin has firmed up his authority despite the expansionist designs in Ukraine and the calibrated bombing in Syria that has somewhat strategically left the repressive dictator unscathed. His party, United Russia, has won an impressive victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, and is way ahead of rival parties. Indeed, Putin has won still greater supremacy over the political system, and is now poised to run for a fourth term as President.

True, there was a decline in voter turnout, but there can be no two opinions on the fact that he has won an enormous vote of confidence, with  United Russia securing 343 seats in the 450-member Duma. Equally, there is no denying the indifference of a section of the electorate, notably in St Petersburg and Moscow… of all places. The trust in the present leadership of the Kremlin has been reaffirmed despite a stuttering economy that has been made worse by Western sanctions over the Ukraine misadventure. For the first time, people voted in Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned internationally. United Russia has won all the region’s constituency seats, in a vote that prompted protests in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. "We know that life is hard for people, there are lots of problems, lots of unresolved problems," Mr Putin said. "Nevertheless, we have this result."

Despite Russia’s economic malaise and tensions with the West over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, the poor turnout — rated as the lowest in modern Russian history — was a reflection of widespread apathy among voters. From the political perspective, the chief merit of the victory of  United Russia, formed barely 16 years ago, is that it has won a strong enough mandate to unilaterally amend the Constitution, without going through the motions of seeking the Duma’s support. The allegations of irregularities are of a piece with what they call the system of "managed democracy" crafted by the Kremlin. No one expected that Putin’s control of parliament would weaken. This time, Russians will generally endorse the result not least because of his personal popularity and widespread apathy.

The outcome, pretty much predictable, is a vote  of confidence in  Putin. Arguably, it could not have been any different given his monolithic leadership. The individual has overshadowed the party. Indeed, the election has been viewed as an informal referendum on trust in the person who is in charge of making all the key decisions. Whether the recent ceasefire agreement with the US  on Syria has been able shore up his image can only be speculated upon. On closer reflection, there is little or nothing that is sensational. The party of power is in power again — an almost inevitable outcome of any election  if the opposition is ineffectual.