it seems pretty clear that all efforts were being made to fudge the election of Vladimir Putin – although it was a certainty he would be elected as his serious rivals had all been, in some way, removed from the electoral process!
This left Putin in the embarrassing position that everyone knew he was bound to be elected so on a coldday in March turnout to vote would be miniscule, thereby looking as if he was not popular!
Thus the motive for the botched but publicity prone attempt at execution of a father and daughter in Salisbury. The FSB knew it would receive a strong response which was just what they wanted! A strong response would be denied vehemently by Putin but Putin did not predict Theresa May’s resolve or that she would take the matter immediately to the UN.
Although Putin’s actions predictable as they were succeeded in that they made the Nationalistic Russians turn out in unexpected numbers to vote, giving Putin the higher turnout AND the predicted 70+% personal vote leaving only about 25% for the 8 also rans who he had allowed! Yes although! Although it happened it rendered his denial of the criminality of the attempted killings totally implausible, other than to his propagandised and brow beaten domestic audience under his control!
For a greater understanding of both the extreme brutality of Russia and its utter dishonesty on a level that is totally implausible in the West, or was at least beyond the realms of Hitler and latterly Tony Blair and his corrupt clique from whence Momentum & the Corbynystas learned their art CLICK HERE
This CCTV footage released by a government opposition group appears to show ballot box stuffing in the Russian presidential election https://trib.al/55jNZ4t
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CCTV captures ballot box stuffing
This CCTV footage released by a government opposition group appears to show ballot box stuffing in the Russian presidential election https://trib.al/55jNZ4t
5:49 PM – 18 Mar 2018
Russian election: Novelties tempt voters to the polls
Free food, animal mascots and cancer screenings are drawing voters to an election that seems a foregone conclusion.
Image:Members of the ‘Polar Bear’ winter swimming club cast their votes at a polling station in the city of Barnaul
By John Sparks, Moscow
It is not a presidential election in the conventional sense.
Yes, Russian voters have eight candidates to choose from, ranging from former socialite-turned-democrat Ksenia Sobchak to the millionaire Communist party candidate, Pavel Grudinin.
Over the past 18 years he has built a subservient political regime which supports and promotes his leadership.
His decision to annex Crimea and deploy forces in Syria have bolstered his claim that Russia has re-taken its seat at the world’s top table. “We are a great power and no one likes competition,” he said in a recent interview.
Image:Vladimir Putin pictured at a Moscow polling station
It is this electoral certainty – the total absence of suspense – that has made turnout the key test of this election for President Putin. Will Russians leave the comforts of home and vote on what is a bitterly cold and windswept day?
The best-known opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, has instructed his supporters to boycott the event with his #noelections2018 hashtag. Mr Navalny has been banned from competing in the poll due to a previous fraud conviction which he says is politically motivated.
Video:CCTV shows alleged election violations in Russia
As a consequence of this unsanctioned challenge, the government has been working hard to get the vote out and we have seen plenty of examples of this operation on social media.
Food seems to figure prominently as an inducement at polling stations. A large buffet was put on for residents in the Moscow suburb of Korolov:
“Food is delicious here. Vote and eat in the same place,” says this tweet.
An oversize slab of cake was delivered to ‘polling station number 13’ in the city of Magadan. One internet user posted a video of voters enthusiastically tucking in.
Elsewhere, first time voters were given tickets for pop concerts, older voters were offered free cancer screenings and people posted selfies of themselves at polling stations in the hope of winning prizes.
Considerable sums of government money have been spent on balloons and decorations – and in some cases voters brought the festivities with them. One man in the Buryatia Republic in Siberia decided to dress up as a full-size bear although he did struggle to wedge himself into the voter’s booth.
More from Russia
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Police contact Russian exiles in UK over safety after ‘murder’ of Nikolai Glushkov
Russia election: The secret of Vladimir Putin’s appeal as voters go to polls
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Russia expels British ‘spies’ after Salisbury poisoning attack
Worryingly, there have been multiple accounts of ballot box stuffing and ‘forced voting’ – where civil servants and employees at state-run companies were told to vote or risk losing their jobs.
One Twitter user posted a picture from a security camera in a polling station in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and pointed out that there were completed ballots in the ballot box before the station had actually opened. Elsewhere a middle aged man can be seen seemingly stuffing several votes into the securely sealed box.
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