While election officials at Moscow polling stations visited by RFE/RL said turnout had been steady and higher than the previous presidential election, voter apathy was palpable.
"There is no real choice," 20-year-old Yevgeniy Kiva, who came out to one Moscow polling station not to vote but because he was paid by the local election committee to wear a clown suit and dance with children to pop music blaring from a mobile sound system.
"Give your smile to the world," two young boys sang into the sound system's microphone as Kiva twirled, expressionless.
Several people expressed displeasure at having to come and vote, with one middle-aged man, who declined to give his name for fear of repercussions, saying management at the local textile plant where he has worked for more than 20 years threatened to fire employees who didn't go to the polls.
Another reported incident of ballot stuffing. That one was in Daghestan:
Here is our latest news story on the vote:
Putin Expected To Sail To Fourth Term Amid Reports Of Voting Violations
By RFE/RL
MOSCOW-- Voters in Russia are casting ballots on March 18 in a presidential election that is all but certain to secure President Vladimir Putin a fourth term in office amid reports of hundreds of violations at polling stations across the country.
The 65-year-old incumbent is riding a wave of government-stoked popularity on the fourth anniversary of Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and in the wake of a military intervention in Syria that has been played up on state-controlled television as a patriotic success.
Amid government efforts to get out the vote and reports of voter fraud, much attention is focused on whether Russians will turn out in big enough numbers to hand Putin a convincing mandate.
Casting his ballot in Moscow, Putin said "any" result that allows him to continue as president would be a "success."
Read more
- By Mike Eckel
Russian election officials have repeatedly hailed the integrity of the presidential election campaign, not to mention the actual voting process taking place today. Here's an example of one who's not holding back in the superlative department:
- By Mike Eckel
Defacing election ballots has arguably risen to an art form in Russia, particularly for voters who believe the process has become a sham. Here's one example from a voting precinct in a northern Moscow district.
Translation: "Give Us Back Our Elections, You Creeps."
