President Vladimir Putin claimed an election victory that was never in doubt as officials said Monday that he'd won his fifth term with a record number of votes, underlining the Russian leader's total control of the country's political system and extending his nearly quarter-century rule for six more years.

“Really, we have 24 years of watching Putin build an increasingly repressive, authoritarian state. So the main purpose of elections like this in an authoritarian country is to show everyone that Putin is forever, there is no alternative to Putin, there's no point in resisting his state,” Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and author of “The Code of Putinism,” tells CBS News.

In the Newsweek article, “Putin's Plans for Russia Over Next Six Years,” Taylor says, “What one could expect inside Russia is more repression, even more efforts to cut off information that's against the regime's message, and that could take a variety of forms in terms of access to social media platforms.”

Taylor tells Al Jazeera, “Russian elections are not designed to give citizens a free choice between different candidates representing different political views. These elections are being used to remind everyone, both the elites and the masses, that there is no alternative to Putin,” he says.

Taylor was also quoted in the following articles:

Global News: “Vladimir Putin on brink of 6 more years in power as Russia’s election begins”

Le Devoir: “The relentless electoral mechanics of Vladimir Putin”

La Nacion: “Election without surprises: Russians go to the polls to express their feelings about Putin and the war in Ukraine”

Radio Liberty: “‘Ritual action.’ American experts talk about the Russian presidential elections”