‘Putin is obsessed with the idea of legitimacy,’ opposition activist says of ‘sham’ referendum

"Vladimir Putin from this day de jure, belongs to the same league of rogue authoritarian regimes as ... [Hugo] Chavez in Venezuela, [Blaise] Compaore in Burkina Faso, [Islam] Karimov in Uzbekistan and many, many others," opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza told The World. "And this should be said publicly and clearly from the highest rostrum in the Western world."