2012 Russian Federation Presidential Elections

Who would you rather see as the President of the Russian Federation? [See first page]

  • Vladimir Putin (United Russia)

    Votes: 10 71.4%
  • Gennady Zyuganov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation)

    Votes: 2 14.3%
  • Sergey Mironov (Just Russia)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia)

    Votes: 2 14.3%
  • Mikhail Prokhorov (Independent)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .

pmaitra

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2012 Russian Federation Presidential Elections



This thread is about news, articles, analyses and discussion about the Presidential Elections of the Russian Federation for 2012.
 

asianobserve

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Czar Putin will win hands down. He can continue on shielding Assad...
 

pmaitra

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Q&A: Russia's presidential election

27 February 2012 Last updated at 19:41 ET | BBC News

Q&A: Russia's presidential election


The winning candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote

Not since the 1990s has a Russian presidential election attracted as much interest and intrigue as the vote taking place this Sunday.

The run-up to the election has been marked by opposition protests and a surge of opposition activism sparked by Vladimir Putin's return to stand for a third term after four years as prime minister, as well as allegations of electoral fraud in last December's parliamentary elections.


How does the election work?

The winning candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. If there is no outright victor, the two leading candidates go through to a run-off.

Who is standing?

Apart from Mr Putin, four other candidates are standing: Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, and millionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov.

Despite suggestions that his popularity may be waning, recent opinion polls give Mr Putin a solid lead with around 50% of vote. Nevertheless, this is some way off the 71% he won in his last presidential election in 2004.

Of the other candidates, only Mr Zyuganov and Mr Zhirinovsky have shown signs of even coming close to double percentage figures, and none of the candidates is seen as representing the street protest movement against Mr Putin.

What is at stake?

While Mr Putin is still expected to win with relative ease, the vote is seen as a referendum on his 12 years of nearly unchallenged domination of Russian politics.

After two four-year terms as president, he ceded the office to close ally Dmitry Medvedev in 2006 and became prime minister, but is widely thought to have retained overall control.

News in 2011 that he would be standing for a third term was received with dissatisfaction among some Russians, especially the new urban middle class increasingly chafing at widespread corruption.

The anger boiled over following allegations of widespread vote-rigging in parliamentary elections in December, with Moscow witnessing opposition protests not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Mr Putin has fought back, presenting himself as the man who saved Russia from the instability of the 1990s and restored it to the status of global power, able to resist what he frequently depicts as the West's plans for hegemony.

How will the opposition protests affect this election?

While the protest movement may have only slightly dented Putin's standing with most Russians, they have galvanised efforts by civil society groups and anti-Putin campaigners to scrutinise the conduct of the election.

Two main independent monitoring groups have sprung up with the aim of recruiting volunteer monitors - the League of Voters, which was founded in January by a group of public figures who played a prominent part in the December protests, and Rosvybory, which is run by blogger and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny.

Both groups are cooperating with older organisations that monitored December's parliamentary election, including Golos ("Vote" or "Voice"), Russia's oldest independent election monitoring group. The methods being used to attract volunteers include glossy YouTube videos, and even a smartphone app.

What has been the authorities' response?

The main response has been an order by Mr Putin for cameras to be installed at all of Russia's 96,000 polling stations. The Central Election Commission followed this up with an order to polling station heads to show every page of their electoral return to the cameras.

But critics say there is no guarantee that there will be sufficient bandwidth to view the footage or that opposition observers will be given access to footage.

While the new monitoring groups have had a relatively tolerant response from the authorities, Golos claims that it is being harassed on the government's orders, to the extent of having been kicked out of its offices without explanation.

Will the monitoring be effective?

With opposition activists estimating fraud to have made a difference of as much as 15% to the December parliamentary vote, some observers say the unprecedented number of monitors could have an impact on the conduct of the election.

However, there are also doubts about the monitors' effectiveness. While in theory they can freely move around polling stations, they have in practice often been obstructed and even ejected from polling stations in the past.

Observers also caution that most independent monitors will be concentrated in large urban areas, leaving the election lightly monitored in much of the rest of Russia's vast territory.

What role will the media play?

As in the past, Mr Putin can count on the enthusiastic backing of the tightly-controlled main national state television channels. Only some smaller private TV stations are likely to deviate from this line, but their reach is limited to a small number of urban areas.

Recent state TV coverage has continued its traditional pattern of portraying Mr Putin as a strong, masculine leader capable of defending Russian national interests at home and abroad.

Since the December elections, the state TV channels have softened their usual disregard for critical voices, with several anti-establishment politicians being allowed to appear after years of absence.

However, this has coincided with growing pressure from the authorities on the handful of outlets of free speech in Russia, including liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy and the outspoken newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

Mr Putin also angered opponents by refusing to take part in planned TV debates between the candidates, saying his duties as prime minister made it impractical for him to attend, and that he would send representatives instead. One opposition spokesman said the move showed "disrespect" to his opponents.

While television - still the main news medium for most Russians - may still largely favour Mr Putin, the internet is a growing factor. With little government regulation, opposition voices have a strong presence on the web, and the internet has been one of the driving forces behind the anti-Putin protests.

Source: BBC News - Q&A: Russia's presidential election
 

pmaitra

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Candidates and Parties

Candidates and Parties for the 2012 Russian Presidential Elections



RussianPresidentialCandidates.JPG
 

pmaitra

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Crossposting:


Vladimir Putin 'virgin' voter advert becomes online hit

Красотка гадает на первый раз

A rather peculiar campaign advert encouraging first time voters in Russia to support Vladimir Putin has become a viral hit.

10:50PM GMT 28 Feb 2012 | Telegraph UK

The slickly produced advert, which has picked up over 200,000 views on YouTube, sees a young Russian female visit a fortuneteller who predicts her future using tarot cards.

Asking after her "destiny", the young woman is informed by the mystic that her "first time" will be with the presidential candidate as a turn of the card reveals Mr Putin himself.

Complete with romantic music, the scene then cuts to the same young woman entering a polling station before the advert, seemingly aimed at first time voters ahead of the presidential election on March 4, ends with the message "Putin. Only for love the first time".

Source: Video: Vladimir Putin 'virgin' voter advert becomes online hit - Telegraph
 
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Oracle

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Vladimir Putin! Vladimir Putin! Vladimir Putin!
 

spikey360

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Putin Putin Putin! One cannot imagine what country wouldn't want a nationalistic son like him to become her President!

As is widely known, the Americans are very scared of Putin. They know that VV doesn't beat around the bush and means business. They got a taste of his resolve during the standoff at Pristina International Airport, too bad it is not much publicised as the tale of yankee-brit cowardice would become widely known then. His resolve became clearer during the Georgian conflict. Therefore the dishonest among the yanks would do a lot of things to ensure that Putin should not come to power. However that seems unlikely, despite what the 'free western press' says, Putin still enjoys the confidence of the majority of Russians, not because they are scared of him, but because they are proud of him. That is something the americans can never be of their presidents post WW2.
 
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pmaitra

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All right guys - poll added!

Note, however, that not all might end up competing in the runoff, if there is one.
 

indian_sukhoi

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Dunno much about Russian Politics!!

I was just reading about "Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" , and they seemed to be someone capable to bringing back the Soviet Era. Could someone explain briefly about this Party.


May not Ukraine, But they seem to capable enough to unify Belarus back into Russia.
 

pmaitra

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Dunno much about Russian Politics!!

I was just reading about "Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" , and they seemed to be someone capable to bringing back the Soviet Era. Could someone explain briefly about this Party.


May not Ukraine, But they seem to capable enough to unify Belarus back into Russia.
Read up on their leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky. He is one heck of a radical guy. Don't be fooled by the 'liberal' tag of his party.
 

spikey360

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Recently, Navalnyi is being showered with praise in the western media. Little do they know that he is a skinhead shouting slogans like "Russia for Russians" etc. What does the US expect from an ultranational like him, US behind licking?
It is laughable how Hillary Clinton was, only a few weeks ago, trying to interfere in sovereign matters like elections of other countries. Only after a roar from Vladimir Putin, did the remarks stop. Proves that there are people in this world who scare US top brass a lot.
 

pmaitra

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Russia election: Vladimir Putin seeks third term

Russia election: Vladimir Putin seeks third term

4 March 2012 Last updated at 02:53 ET | BBC News


Voters are turning out at 90,000 polling stations

Polling stations in across Russia have opened as the presidential election gets under way.

Sunday's vote sees Vladimir Putin hoping to become president again after four years as prime minister.

Mr Putin was Russia's president from 2000 to 2008, but was barred by the constitution from standing for a third consecutive term.

He faces four challengers, three of whom he has defeated in previous elections.

The election is being held against a backdrop of popular discontent, sparked by allegations of fraud during December's parliamentary elections.

Polls will be open from 8am to 8pm in each time zone, with the first opening in the Far East of the country at 20:00 GMT on Saturday, and the last in the western Kaliningrad region closing at 17:00 GMT on Sunday.

The interior ministry is bringing 6,000 police reinforcements to Moscow from the regions, according to Russian media reports.

On the scene
Richard Galpin
BBC News, Novosibirsk

Voting is under way in Novosibirsk on a cold morning with the temperature at -17C at the moment.

So far at 9am local time, the polling station we are at is quite quiet, a trickle of voters coming in to cast their ballots. Two webcams have been set up on the walls above the ballot boxes streaming pictures back to a website which the public can watch.

The head of the polling station told us she had no concerns about rigging in this area saying she did not understand how it was possible to stuff ballot boxes here.

The polling station in a local school has food on sale and is hosting a "spring celebration" later, partly to encourage voter turnout. The polling station head is hoping for at least a 50% turnout.
Recent protests

Mr Putin's main challenger is considered to be Communist Gennady Zyuganov, who is running for a fourth time.

The other candidates are ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, who is standing as an independent, and former upper house speaker Sergey Mironov, from the centre-left A Just Russia party.

If Mr Putin fails to achieve more than 50% of the vote he will face his nearest rival in a run-off.

However, the liberal opposition behind some of the recent protests is not represented.

The so-called white-ribbon movement has attracted more than 50,000 people in recent demonstrations in Moscow and other major cities, after widespread allegations of vote-rigging during elections for the State Duma. Similar numbers attended pro-Putin and pro-Communist rallies.

Mr Putin has responded by announcing a programme to install webcams in each of the country's 90,000 polling stations, but critics have questioned their effectiveness.

The Candidates
  • Vladimir Putin, 59-year-old ex-KGB spy and current prime minister, former president between 2000 and 2008
  • Gennady Zyuganov, Communist Party leader
  • Mikhail Prokhorov, billionaire metals magnate turned politician
  • Vladimir Zhirinovsky, nationalist firebrand, leader of Liberal Democratic Party
  • Sergei Mironov, leader of centre-left A Just Russia Party, former head of the upper house
"Cameras cannot capture all the details of the voting process, in particular during counting," said a report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), quoted by the Associated Press.

A joint mission by the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe comprising 250 observers is monitoring the elections.

Meanwhile tens of thousands of Russians have volunteered as election observers and been trained to recognise and report violations.

Source: BBC News - Russia election: Vladimir Putin seeks third term
 

cat2001

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Putin Is Japanese (Putin and Putyatin)

Japan's Conspiracy (4) P8

Putin's birthday is the 100th anniversary of the dispatch of a Russian expedition for Japan.

But the story doesn't stop there.
 

pmaitra

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A tearful Putin claims Russian election victory

A tearful Putin claims Russian election victory

By LYNN BERRY, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin scored a decisive victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday to return to the Kremlin and extend his hold on power for six more years. His eyes brimming with tears, he defiantly proclaimed to a sea of supporters that they had triumphed over opponents intent on "destroying Russia's statehood and usurping power."

Putin's win was never in doubt as many across the vast country still see him as a guarantor of stability and the defender of a strong Russia against a hostile world, an image he has carefully cultivated during 12 years in power.

Accounts by independent observers of extensive vote-rigging, however, looked set to strengthen the resolve of opposition forces whose unprecedented protests in recent months have posed the first serious challenge to Putin's heavy-handed rule. Another huge demonstration was set for Monday evening in central Moscow.

Putin claimed victory Sunday night when fewer than a quarter of the votes had been counted. He spoke to a rally just outside the Kremlin walls of tens of thousands of supporters, many of them government workers or employees of state-owned companies who had been ordered to attend.

"I promised that we would win and we have won!" Putin shouted to the flag-waving crowd. "We have won in an open and honest struggle."

Putin, 59, said the election showed that "our people can easily distinguish a desire for renewal and revival from political provocations aimed at destroying Russia's statehood and usurping power."

He ended his speech with the triumphant declaration: "Glory to Russia!"

The West can expect Putin to continue the tough policies he has pursued even as prime minister, including opposing U.S. plans to build a missile shield in Europe and resisting international military intervention in Syria.

Exit polls cited by state television predicted Putin would get about 59 percent of the vote. With more than 90 percent of precincts counted nationwide, Putin was leading with 65 percent, the Central Election Commission said. Complete results were expected Monday.

Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov was a distant second, followed by Mikhail Prokhorov, the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team whose candidacy was approved by the Kremlin in what was seen as an effort to channel some of the protest sentiment. The clownish nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and socialist Sergei Mironov trailed behind. The leader of the liberal opposition Yabloko party was barred from the race.

"These elections are not free. ... That's why we'll have protests tomorrow. We will not recognize the president as legitimate," said Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Putin's first prime minister before going into opposition.

The wave of protests began after a December parliamentary election in which observers produced evidence of widespread vote fraud. Protest rallies in Moscow drew tens of thousands in the largest outburst of public anger in post-Soviet Russia, demonstrating growing exasperation with the pervasive corruption and tight controls over political life under Putin, who was president from 2000 to 2008 before moving into the prime minister's office due to term limits.

Golos, Russia's leading independent elections watchdog, said it received numerous reports of "carousel voting," in which busloads of voters are driven around to cast ballots multiple times.

After the polls closed, Golos said the number of violations appeared just as high as in December.

"If during the parliamentary elections, we saw a great deal of ballot-box stuffing and carousel voting ... this time we saw the deployment of more subtle technologies," said Andrei Buzin, who heads the monitoring operations at Golos.

Alexei Navalny, one of the opposition's most charismatic leaders, said observers trained by his organization also reported seeing carousel voting and other violations.

A first-round victory was politically important for Putin, serving as proof that he retains majority support.

"They decided that a second round would be bad, unreliable and would show weakness," Navalny said. "That's why they ... falsified the elections."

There was no evidence that the scale of any election fraud was high enough to have pushed Putin over the 50 percent mark and saved him from a runoff.

Putin's campaign chief, Stanislav Govorukhin, rejected the claims of violations, calling them "ridiculous."

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has become increasingly critical of Putin's rule. "These are not going to be honest elections, but we must not relent," he said after casting his ballot.

Putin has dismissed the protesters' demands, casting them as a coddled minority of urban elites manipulated by leaders working at the behest of the West. His claims that the United States was behind the protests spoke to his base of blue-collar workers, farmers and state employees, who are suspicious of Western intentions after years of state propaganda.

"Putin is a brave and persistent man who can resist the U.S. and EU pressure," said Anastasia Lushnikova, a 20-year-old student who voted for Putin in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.

Putin played the same polarizing tune on Sunday, thanking the workers at a tank factory in Nizhny Tagil for their support, saying that "a man of labor is a head above any loafer or windbag."

He made generous social promises during his campaign and initiated limited political reforms to try to assuage public anger. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Sunday that Putin will push ahead with the reforms, but he firmly ruled out any "Gorbachev-style liberal spasms."

Putin had promised that the vote would be fair, and election officials allowed more observers to monitor the vote. Tens of thousands of Russians, most of them politically active for the first time, volunteered to be election observers, receiving training on how to recognize vote-rigging and record and report violations.

Zyuganov, the Communist candidate, told reporters after the polls closed that he would not recognize the vote, calling it "illegitimate, unfair and non-transparent."

His campaign chief, Ivan Melnikov, claimed that election officials had set up numerous additional polling stations and alleged that hundreds of thousands of voters cast ballots at the ones in Moscow alone.

Prokhorov said on Channel One television after the vote that his observers had been kept away from some polling stations and were beaten on two occasions.

Oksana Dmitriyeva, a parliamentary deputy from Mironov's party, tweeted that they saw "numerous cases of observers being expelled from polling stations" across St. Petersburg just before the vote count.

Web cameras were installed in Russia's more than 90,000 polling stations, a move initiated by Putin in response to complaints of ballot stuffing and falsified vote counts in December's parliamentary elections.

It was unclear to what extent the cameras were effective. The election observation mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe noted skepticism in a report on election preparations.

The OSCE, which fielded about 220 observers, was to present its findings on Monday.

Unlike in Moscow and other big cities, where independent observers showed up en masse, in Russia's North Caucasus and some other regions election officials were largely left to their own devices.

A web camera at a polling station in Dagestan, a Caucasus province near Chechnya, registered unidentified people tossing ballot after ballot into boxes. The Central Election Commission quickly responded to the video, which was posted on the Internet, saying the results from the station will be invalidated.

Putin got more than 90 percent of the vote in several Caucasus provinces, including 99.8 percent in Chechnya.

The police presence was heavy throughout Moscow and other Russian cities Sunday. There were no immediate reports of trouble, although police arrested three young women who stripped to the waist at the polling station where Putin cast his ballot; one of them had the word "thief" written on her bare body.

In Dagestan, where attacks by Islamic militants occur on a daily basis, gunmen raided a polling station, killing three police officers. One of the assailants was also killed, according to police.

Associated Press writers Jim Heintz, Maria Danilova, Nataliya Vasilyeva, Mansur Mirovalev, Peter Leonard and Sofia Javed in Moscow and Sergei Venyavsky in Rostov-on-Don contributed to this report.

Source: The Associated Press: A tearful Putin claims Russian election victory
 

pmaitra

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Prior to and during election -

- all across the vast lands of the Russian Federation, all across the various nationalities and ethnicities, all across the various political factions, all across citizens from various walks of life!







 

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