Well, the Russians had another presidential election and the result should surprise no one. With a turnout of between 58% and 62% of qualified voters, Vladimir Putin has been elected to his third term. Another very predictable result of the election is the fact that even before the final totals are known, most of Putin's opponents are saying the election was fraudulent.
Was there fraud, or did a majority of Russians really want Putin re-elected? Perhaps both are true. His closest competitor (Gennady Zyuganov) got only about 17% of the vote, and that's not even in the respectable range. Until Putin's opponents can get together and find a candidate capable of giving Putin some real competition, claims of fraud are not going to go very far.
The only real surprise is that it looks like Putin will wind up with only about 60% of the vote -- quite a drop-off from his previous runs. Add that to the fact that Putin's political party (United Russia) was able to get only a very slight majority in the latest elections for the Duma (Russia's parliament), and Putin may have a bit harder time ruling the country this time. If the opposition parties are able to stick together, they could give him some trouble.
I know it's not good for Russia, but it's good for me and Jan..we love ole Rootin' Tootin' Putin.
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