Putin Wins, Unrest On Russian Horizon?

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Vladimir Putin will once again serve in the Kremlin as President of Russia, raking in an estimated 62% of the vote one day ago.  The closest competitor in the race was communist Gennady Zyuganov, bringing home around 17% of the votes.

Mr. Putin will enter his 3rd term (6 year term) .  He is returning after a 4 year gap where he served as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev: who will now become Prime Minister.

However all is not well in the Russian Federation as opposition leaders have said that the result was marred by ballot-rigging and bribery.

The U.K. Daily Mail is reporting that Mikhail Kasyanov, Mr Putin’s former prime minister and now an opposition activist, said: ‘These elections are not free, that’s why we will have protests tomorrow. We will not recognise the president as legitimate.’

Even the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has unkind words about Putin, saying, “These are not going to be honest elections, but we must not relent.  Honest elections should be our constant motto for years to come.”

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