You were cheated
Thousands of Russians protested in the streets of Moscow about alleged fraud in Sunday’s elections. They chanted “Russia without Putin” as they headed towards the Kremlin, but police intervened and they never got there. A Whitehouse spokesman said they had concerns about the elections as there were “serious indications of ballot box stuffing.”
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said “The country has never seen such a dirty election" and dismissed the official results as “theft on an especially grand scale” and will challenge the “absolutely illegitimate” result in court. The Communist Party is officially in second place with 19.2% of the vote and 92 seats, A Just Russia was in third place with 13.2% and 64 seats, and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) had 11.7% and 56 seats.
But even the “official” figures show that Vladimir Putin has suffered a severe setback and it looks like the Russian people are ready for a change. Electoral Commission head Vladimir Churov said United Russia should have a slim majority, with 238 seats out of 450. This would mean that Putin’s party would lose its current two-thirds majority which allows it to change the constitution unchallenged.
A popular anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, one of those arrested in the demonstration said "They are a party of crooks and thieves”. He later tweeted he was “sitting in a police bus” and photos were posted of him held at a police station. Another observer, Heidi Tagliavini, said the elections had suffered because several opposition parties were barred from taking part. "To me, this election was like a game in which only some players are allowed to compete," she said.
But even the “official” figures show that Vladimir Putin has suffered a severe setback and it looks like the Russian people are ready for a change. Electoral Commission head Vladimir Churov said United Russia should have a slim majority, with 238 seats out of 450. This would mean that Putin’s party would lose its current two-thirds majority which allows it to change the constitution unchallenged.
A popular anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, one of those arrested in the demonstration said "They are a party of crooks and thieves”. He later tweeted he was “sitting in a police bus” and photos were posted of him held at a police station. Another observer, Heidi Tagliavini, said the elections had suffered because several opposition parties were barred from taking part. "To me, this election was like a game in which only some players are allowed to compete," she said.
Putin served as president from 2000 to 2008 and was prohibited by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term but he plans to run again in March 2012. Could it be that the Russian people are trying to tell him something?
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