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Russia votes for Putin's successor
2008-03-02
Russia's voters are expected to endorse Vladimir Putin's choice of a successor in Sunday's presidential election, allowing Putin to retain a measure of power in his nation, whose wealth and global voice have grown even as democratic freedoms diminished. Dmitry Medvedev, a 42-year-old lawyer and loyal Kremlin aide, is expected to take over from Putin, whose eight years as president have left a deep imprint on the world's largest country. Medvedev has said he would offer Putin the prime minister's post. "I'm in a good mood. Spring is here," Medvedev said as he cast his ballot in Moscow, where rain and wet snow sprinkled the streets. "The season has changed." Some voters complained of pressure to cast ballots in his favor, and critics called the election a cynical stageshow. Few international observers were monitoring the vote. Two election day bomb explosions targeting a police convoy near Chechnya served as a reminder of the tensions around the once-breakaway republic, one of the challenges the next president will face. Two people were reported wounded. Some 450,000 police and troops deployed nationwide to ensure the voting proceeded calmly. If Medvedev wins, the world community will be watching closely to see how he and Putin share power. Some in the West have welcomed Medvedev's reputation as a moderate after years of tense ties with Putin over his crackdown on domestic dissent, U.S. plans for a missile defense and Kosovo's independence, among other things. Analysts predict, though, that Medvedev could face opposition from Kremlin insiders hostile to the West. Though he has never held elected office, Medvedev has had an easy ride toward the presidency. Polls predict he will take a solid majority of votes, against the three other candidates: Communist Gennady Zyuganov, flamboyant ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the relatively unknown Andrei Bogdanov of the Democratic Party. "Medvedev is a wonderful, young, handsome energetic man who will continue Putin's work and be a shining example to our children," said Tamara Razumova, who works in a polling station in Moscow. Turnout was the only electoral uncertainty Sunday. It stood at 15 percent nationwide by midday Moscow time, Central Elections Commission chief Vladimir Churov said. He said that was slightly higher than during parliamentary elections in December. The final turnout during that vote -- which handed overwhelming victory to the ruling United Russia party -- was 63 percent. In Chechnya, riven by two wars since 1994 but now more or less under control by a Kremlin-backed administration, President Ramzan Kadyrov predicted 95 percent to 100 percent turnout. "I voted for a bright future, for Medvedev," he said in Grozny. Polling stations offered food and office supplies at a discount. In Medvedev's native St. Petersburg, some voters quaffed bargain beer at their polling place. Others showed up for the goods -- but didn't bother to vote. Some cast a protest ballot. Alexander Petrov, a 28-year-old trader in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, said he voted for Zyuganov, because he wanted to "take away votes from the candidate of the ruling powers." Government-paid teachers and doctors across the country complained that they were being pressured to vote at their workplace under the gaze of their superiors, to ensure a convincing win and a high turnout for Medvedev. Golos, an election monitoring group, reported similar accounts. Sofia, 25, a history teacher in southwestern Moscow, said the principal required her and colleagues to cast ballots at a polling station set up on the school premises. "This is terrible, they are not leaving us any choice," said Sofia, who declined to give her last name out of fear of losing her job. She said she destroyed her ballot in protest. The only liberal candidate, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion and one of the Kremlin's most prominent critics, were both squeezed off the ballot on technicalities. Only 300 international election observers were monitoring the 96,000 voting stations across Russia's 11 time zones. The influential Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe refused to send observers, saying Russian authorities were imposing such tight restrictions that it could not work in a meaningful way. Communist candidate Zyuganov claimed irregularities were widespread but provided no evidence. Candidate Bogdanov, asked how much support he predicted, said: "Any percent would be good." The new president's major domestic tasks hover around economic issues. Russia got rich from skyrocketing world oil prices, but the economy is hugely dependent on natural resources and needs to diversify to ensure long-term prosperity. Inflation -- more than 11 percent last year -- is undermining the nascent middle class. ___ Associated Press reporters Liya Khabarova in Vladivostok, Irina Titova in St. Petersburg, Maria Danilova and Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow contributed to this report.
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