Dmitri Peskvov, spokesman for the Kremlin, in the aftermath of the protest action that saw thousands of people mobilized in different cities for a symbolic "voter strike" (organized by Navalny) declared that Vladimir Putin is "the leader of 'Political Olympus' and in no way fears Aleksey Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger and leading figure of the opposition in Russia, who will not be able to run for the presidential elections in March.
The spokesperson added that “Vladimir Putin's level of popularity expands far beyond Russia's borders. I do not think anyone can doubt that Putin is the absolute leader for public opinion, the absolute leader of political Olympus, with whom it is really unlikely that anyone can seriously compete at this moment ”.