The three-decade long rule of vindictive Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, 70, was extended another six years Sunday, following a staged election condemned as a sham by Western governments. After a crackdown on protests against his rule in 2020,

Victory “demonstrates your high political authority,” the Kremlin chief gushes about his counterpart in Minsk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for winning a seventh term in office, saying Sunday's election showed he had the undoubted backing of the people.

By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule on Monday after electoral officials declared him the winner of a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham.

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, claims to have won a landslide victory in an election already being denounced across the Western world as a “sham”.

STORY: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule with a massive election win.The country held a presidential election on Sunday.According to results published on the Central Election Commission's Telegram account,

Russian, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko casts himself as a plain-spoken strongman and "president of the ordinary people".

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

Vladimir Putin praises Alexander Lukashenko's election victory and discusses military cooperation, including Oreshnik missiles in Belarus by 2025.- Watch Video on English Oneindia

Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya labeled Lukashenko’s successful reelection as “sheer nonsense.” Before Sunday’s vote, she had encouraged voters to cross out every candidate’s name on the ballot.