Russians are voting in election Putin will win

Russians vote in election Putin will win — The Kremlin controls every aspect of the voting process, including the candidates and the vote-counting

(Image credit: Contributor / Getty Images)

What happened

Russians began voting Friday in a three-day election that is all but guaranteed to hand President Vladimir Putin a fifth term.

Who said what

The Russian election is a "sham," said Sam Greene, a director at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. "The Kremlin controls who's on the ballot" and "every aspect of the voting and the vote-counting process."

The commentary

Putin's opponents are mostly in prison, exiled or dead. His three authorized rivals are low-profile politicians from token opposition parties. Yes, "Putin is certain to win," Politico said, but Russia's opposition is determined to give him a "bloody nose," urging protesters to vote en masse at noon on Sunday to "showcase popular revulsion" at Putin's reign.

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What next?

Russians will "doubtless wake up to find President Putin has been reelected" on March 18, and "when he appears at a victory rally in Moscow, he may even shed a tear — as he did after the 2012 presidential election," the BBC said. Then it is six more years of "the illusion of democracy."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.