I didn't know this. It's absolutely bizarre. I wonder why Russia even bothers with elections -- it's clearly not on the bandwagon for western liberalism, which seems fair enough to me, but then why go through the motions?
And he knows that, but if he won the election with 60% of votes, it would show that there are other candidates or political parties with tremendous support. Yeah, they can exist and even win in different states across the country for different political roles.
Still, the idea that he wants to show to people is that he is supported by the majority and supported with overwhelming superiority in votes. He doesn't need fraud votes to win. He needs to fraud voting to show the dramatic differences in support.
Majority of people are afraid to say otherwise. I've watched some deadpan comedian from Lithuania do some interviews in Moscow. People face change and they immediately walk away after mentioning Putin. Of course the best question was:
"What do you think Russia would look like if Putin was homosexual?"
> I didn't know this. It's absolutely bizarre. I wonder why Russia even bothers with elections -- it's clearly not on the bandwagon for western liberalism, which seems fair enough to me, but then why go through the motions?
Why did Stalinist Russia bother with show trials? The appearance of legitimacy is enough to give cover to people who approve of the government without wanting to own up to its dirty tricks, and to mute the voices of those who disapprove.
And he knows that, but if he won the election with 60% of votes, it would show that there are other candidates or political parties with tremendous support. Yeah, they can exist and even win in different states across the country for different political roles.
Still, the idea that he wants to show to people is that he is supported by the majority and supported with overwhelming superiority in votes. He doesn't need fraud votes to win. He needs to fraud voting to show the dramatic differences in support.
It's all about image in people's heads.