Russians go through the formality of voting in their country’s presidential elections on Sunday, March 18 — though there can be few doubts as to who the winner will be.
President Vladimir Putin is a shoo-in for his second consecutive—and fourth overall—term as president. His most vocal opponent, Alexei Navalny, has been disqualified from the race, and the other candidates running against Putin have been vetted by the state.
In a month in which China’s National People’s Congress voted near-unanimously to remove restrictions on term length, effectively making Xi Jinping president for life, Russia’s elections warrant close scrutiny. In what is effectively …read more
Source: Time
