2012 Russian Presidential Election

The Russian presidential electiosn are quickly approaching, and are scheduled for March 4, 2012. Many individuals believe the election is already anything but free and fair. Candidates attempting to run as independents or for a party that doesn't have representation in the State Duma are required to gather 2,000,000 signatures within 20 days. Many see the 2 million signature requirement a virtual impossibility, especially within just a 20 day period. Not only is there a 2 million signature requirement, but candidates who have "extreme" views are prohibited from running at all. If the strict registration regulations and ideological censorship weren't enough, there are serious doubts regarding the legitimacy of the elections, with many international observers and NGOs stressing the possibility of election fraud.

For those of you who don't know, Russia had it's State Duma elections last year, which were considered by many observers to have "serious irregularities" and allegations of election fraud, this led to the largest protests in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Please vote in the poll and feel free to discuss anything regarding the elections, candidates, and fraud allegations here. So which candidate do you hope becomes the next President of the Russian Federation? Below I have compiled information on the registered candidates, their party, and which Russian federated republic/oblast they are from.

Spoiler:

Russia's "elections" are a facade, plain and simple. That said, I don't follow Russian politics, so I don't have any opinion on the matter.

Putin. Obviously.

Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_19128_7-reasons-vladimir-putin-worlds-craziest-badass.html

Ghost Leader wrote:

Russia's "elections" are a facade, plain and simple. That said, I don't follow Russian politics, so I don't have any opinion on the matter.

Oh I know, I just like to keep bias out of the first post when it comes to election threads.

NiteKrawler wrote:

Putin. Obviously.

Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_19128_7-reasons-vladimir-putin-worlds-craziest-badass.html

lol that article is brilliant and hilarious

Does anyone remember that fake MW2 review video by Vladimir Putin? "ShootinPutin187". LMAO