MOSCOW: Russians began voting in parliamentary polls late Saturday, with parties loyal to President Vladimir Putin set to maintain their dominance despite the Kremlin making a show of cleaning up the vote after mass protests last time around.
The nationwide elections follow several years of tumult that have seen the country annex Crimea from Ukraine, lurch into its worst stand-off with the West since the Cold War, plunge into economic crisis and launch a military campaign in Syria.
But Putin’s ratings remain high at around 80 percent and, with the Kremlin in tight control of the media and public discourse, authorities appear …read more
Source: Free Malaysia Today
