The messages won’t be read by Putin, but they will go through the hands of of thousands of election officials — and higher. 

“The main audience for the Kremlin is the elite, it is they who must be convinced that in the past six years, Putin’s position has not weakened, but has become stronger,” said Petrov. 

But he added fooling them would be difficult precisely because they have been involved in the vote rigging and therefore know to what extent the official picture differs from reality. 

Putin, however, won’t — as his entourage will undoubtedly present him with an airbrushed version of the past three days. 

“This is where there could be a big rift,” says Petrov. “Objectively, the election has not strengthened the position of the Kremlin. But subjectively, Putin might be under the impression that he enjoys total support and he now has free rein.”

Ironically, more than anyone else, it is Putin himself who might be the biggest dupe of his own rigged vote.  

“If the elite see that, under pressure from the Kremlin, they are reporting numbers today that are much different from the real numbers, they’ll draw their conclusions,” said Petrov. “They’ll be looking around and wondering who they should be placing their bets on as the next boss.”