(18 Mar 2018) Voters in St Petersburg cast their ballot in Russia's presidential elections on Sunday - a barely democratic exercise that will grant incumbent Vladimir Putin another six years of power.
Putin's opponents have called the election a farce, but his millions of fans - including some of the voters in St Petersburg - hail the president for restoring Russian greatness and defending their proud nation from a hostile outside world.
Putin is facing seven challengers on the ballot, but the outcome of the vote is pre-ordained, given his high popularity ratings.
The major goal for authorities is producing a big turnout that will hand him the legitimacy he craves and provide a convincing mandate for his fourth term.
Independent election observers and activists have alleged numerous incidents of ballot stuffing and other irregularities in Sunday's vote.
Some 145,000 observers were monitoring the voting in the world's largest country, including 1,500 foreigners and representatives from opposition leader Alexei Navalny's movement.
Navalny himself is barred from running due to a conviction he calls politically motivated.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
