Putin Heads For Landslide Victory

Intimidation and dirty tricks help Putin to massive landslide
President Vladimir Putin appeared to be heading for a landslide victory in Russia's parliamentary elections last night amid widespread reports that millions of citizens were coerced into voting for his party, United Russia.

Early results from the Central Election Commission indicated the party was leading with 63% of votes, with the Communist party trailing a distant second on 11.5%. Two other partners looked set to scrape into the State Duma: the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, with 10.6%, and Fair Russia, another Kremlin-linked party, with 7.1%. Exit polls indicated similar figures.

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Read it all at The Guardian.

Previously Say It Ain't So, Kameraden!.