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ORIGINAL: rubberpet

Just curious as to whether anyone knows that the Russian presidential election is going on at this moment.  Vladimir Putin must step down as president because of term limits, but does anyone find it peculiar that this supposed democratic state doesn't seem too democratic.  The front runner is a low profile beaurocrat named Dmitry Medvedev (who hasn't really campaigned), but the fact that Putin just happens to endorse him for the presidency instantly catapulted him from a relative unknown to almost shoe-in for the Russian presidency.  Turn out for the election is expected near 70%, which I find quite inflated.  Maybe there is some pressure by higher government officials trickling down to coerce citizens to vote for Medvedev because of his association with Putin.  Hell, I think the turn out for US presidential elections is usually around 50 to 60 percent, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.  That seems very strange, if you ask me. 

It is estimated that Medvedev will receive 70 to 80 percent of the popular vote simply because of Putin's endorsement.  After all, Putin stated he will assume the role of Prime Minister when Medvedev takes office.  How convenient.....

On top of everything else, when a petition was submitted by former chess master Garry Kasparov and his allies to the Central Election Commission declaring the Russiam election to be merely a farce, it was vehemently rejected.  Know why?  It just happens to be run by a former colleague of Putin.  Once again...how convenient.

My question is this:  does anyone care about the Russian presidential election, the impact it may have with US and Russian relations, and the possibility of another Cold War with Russia?  Does anyone feel that the Russian electoral process is controled by the Kremlin, who will ultimately put who they want in office?