Russians voted yesterday in parliamentary elections set to hand Russian President Vladimir Putin's party a crushing victory and help him retain power after leaving office, amid allegations of rigging.
Polling stations opened in a wave across the world's biggest country, from the Pacific to the Baltic.
Turnout was brisk, the Central Election Commission said, despite voters having to brave icy temperatures.
PHOTO: AFP
"I voted for United Russia. Life's got better under Putin," said Mohammed Egemberdiyev, a 43-year-old plumber after casting his ballot at a polling station in central Moscow.
The election followed a campaign marred by accusations that the Kremlin rigged the contest with controversial new election laws and media bias to ensure victory for Putin's ruling United Russia party.
The main monitoring body of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe boycotted the polls, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the White House expressed doubt over the vote's fairness.
Eleven parties participated but opinion polls predicted United Russia would secure at least two-thirds of seats in the 450-seat State Duma, with the Communists a distant second and other votes divided between Kremlin-friendly parties.
For the first time since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, pro-Western liberal candidates were forecast to be excluded from parliament.
Putin, who is required by the Constitution to step down next year after two Kremlin terms, heads United Russia's candidate list.
He said victory yesterday would give him a "moral" mandate in the future, fueling speculation that he intends to retain power.
In a pre-election speech Putin warned Russians to vote for United Russia or risk the "disintegration" of their country.
Casting his ballot at polling station 2074 in southwest Moscow, Putin simply called on Russians to back "those people that you can trust."
Huge revenues from energy exports, steadily rising living standards and a restored sense of national pride after the post-Soviet collapse have made the ex-KGB agent widely popular.
"United Russia have done a good job, everything is getting better," said Vladimir Babikov, a 19-year-old navy conscript fighting to keep warm in the biting breeze as he voted near Vladivostok harbor.
The increasingly beleaguered opposition, ranging from liberals to the Communists, charges the Kremlin with suppressing debate, dominating state television, confiscating election leaflets and arresting activists.
The Kremlin has insisted that the elections will be free and fair.
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