GreenGoo wrote: ↑Sun Jun 10, 2018 10:18 pm
You want to engage on a point by point basis, but I told you I'm not doing that.
Russian votes are free will votes.
Democracy is more than a vote. Even free will votes.
I'm not interested in dragging someone kicking and screaming to a conclusion that they've been taught and understood since kindergarten but refuse to acknowledge it now because of some weird political point sparring match.
Mr. Liar Disengenuous pants.
Once again showing you haven't got a clue.
He’ll be voting in the village on Sunday, he says. Who for? “Well, there has only ever been one man on the ballot paper.
Tucked away from the other side of the Kremlin, however, is the alien spaceship of Alexei Navalny’s local headquarters. The Putin critic might have been controversially barred from these elections, but his band of merry men – kids, to be more exact – continue to campaign on his behalf. The activists have redecorated the small hut in cool turquoise and Ikea white, with posters of their hero dotted around.
Since then, their lives have been subject to the best of Novgorod hospitality: constant surveillance, intimidation and the occasional arrest. But their enthusiasm hasn’t waned, they insist.
Those who manage to fall into the inner circle can expect excellent salaries: “Putin has security guards there on 80,000 roubles, and all for doing nothing. You live a plush life with that kind of cash.”
Ivanov earns less than half that, while working punishing 12-hour shifts. But, for a while, he too was part of the privileged presidential set-up, labouring as a builder on Putin’s estate.
Putin’s definitive election victory in 2012, and the merciless crackdown that followed, put paid to Russia’s nascent protest movement. With increased stakes on dissent, there were few serious challenges to the President’s rule during his third term.
None of the drivers say they have any inclination or intention to vote.
“Elections? Give me a break!” says Sergei. “The pensioners will go to vote because they have nothing else to do. But the ordinary people are pissed off.
“Nothing will change come Sunday,” she says. “Putin’s already stolen all that he can, and maybe he’ll stop now. But even if he goes, things will just get worse.”
A few miles down the road, Marina is selling anti-freeze at 100 roubles a bottle. Her wage is generous in comparison – 800 roubles a day.
“It’s about surviving in these parts,” she says. “People do what they have always done – get by. Nothing has changed in centuries, only the asphalt. The trees are where they have always been, and the marshes, villages, too. Everything is in ruins.”
“Tell me what exactly there is to vote for?” she says.
We speak to two students of the local nursing institute, Olga and Snezhana, 19. Both have come to the town from a village in Tver region. They aren’t keen to tell us their surnames, they say, for fear of reprisals after speaking to a foreign journalist: “We’re not enemies of the nation, you understand, we don’t want people to be searching for us.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 60796.html
International and opposition media would later report that many of those present were put under pressure to attend. It seems "Team Putin," as the organizers in Luzhniki christened themselves, didn't want to leave the optics to chance at their only campaign stop.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a former KGB officer, Putin is a man who values his privacy and strictly controls what information reaches the public.
His complete domination of Russian political life has left little room for a legitimate opposition to develop, says Siegert. "No one can really imagine what will come after Putin. That's an integral part of Putin's political strategy, control over the political field. Control that prohibits any possible competition. That's why so many people see themselves forced to choose between Putin and chaos or Putin and humiliation."
http://www.dw.com/en/russian-election-c ... a-42936343
The vote was tainted by widespread reports of ballot-box stuffing and forced voting, but the complaints will likely do little to undermine Putin. The Russian leader's popularity remains high despite his suppression of dissent and reproach from the West over Russia's increasingly aggressive stance in world affairs and alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
Put had faced seven minor candidates on the ballot. His most vehement foe, anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, was rejected as a presidential candidate because he was convicted of fraud in a case widely regarded as politically motivated. Navalny and his supporters had called for an election boycott but the extent of its success could not immediately be gauged.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/nation-worl ... sian-vote/
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was barred from running after organizing nationwide anti-government protests, had called for a boycott of the election and vigorous vote monitoring to uncover any irregularities. But in a country dominated by state media that have helped generate a loyal following, the Putin juggernaut plowed over any obstacles, including accusations of ballot stuffing and other violations.
Like other large Russian cities, Yekaterinburg, with a population of 1.4 million, is more supportive of opposition candidates. But in multiple interviews across the country, voters voiced a combination of anxiety and frustration over the lack alternatives to Putin.
"You can't talk about Putin's level of support, but the level of fear," said Pavel Sergienya, 35, the founder of an independent trade union. "People are afraid to openly express their opinion except in their kitchens, just like in the Soviet Union."
Andrei Antropov is an exception. The 36-year-old volunteer for opposition leader Navalny was called in by the police three days before the election for a "conversation" with criminal investigators.
"I can't rule out that there will be consequences for me at work, but I'm going to continue my activism," said Antropov, a manager for a telecommunications company.
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/ ... s-in-power
Yep, totally free will elections.
