Russians who oppose Putin can do little but change the atmosphere of the presidential election
Elections in modern Russia have long been a symbolic performance designed to show the world the indestructible unity of the Russian population with the ruling power.
The outcome of this month’s presidential election is pre-ordained, leading to understandably scant enthusiasm among the electorate.
To address that indifference, this election cycle will see the Kremlin use an innovative array of techniques to bolster participation rates among politically passive populations.
Despite this skewed electoral playing field some opposition-minded Russians still plan to come to polling stations. But how much can they influence the predetermined outcome?
Coercion, online voting, and incentives from the KremlinThe Kremlin has long mastered the art of engineering electoral turnout to legitimize its rule, but every new electoral cycle takes new approaches and techniques to manipulate elections.… Seguir leyendo »