Posted on 03/04/2012 8:10:58 PM PST by Steelfish
Vladimir Putin: 'We Have Won. Glory to Russia' Putin claims resounding election win as opposition activists allege widespread fraud
4 March 2012 Vladimir Putin, with Dmitry Medvedev, sheds a tear as he addresses supporters. Putin has claimed a resounding election victory. Photograph: Mikhail Voskresensky /Reuters
Vladimir Putin has claimed a resounding victory in Russia's presidential election, provoking a furious response from opposition activists who alleged that the vote was marred by widespread fraud.
At a rally in front of the Kremlin an emotional Putin, with tears running down his face and flanked by the outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, said: "I promised you we would win. We have won. Glory to Russia."
Putin congratulated his supporters for preventing unidentified outside forces from determining the country's fate, angrily reiterating his charge that the unprecedented protests against his rule that have rocked the country since a contested parliamentary vote in December have been curated by the west.
"We showed that no one can direct us in anything!" Putin said. "We were able to save ourselves from political provocations, which have one goal: to destroy Russian sovereignty and usurp power."
The central election commission gave Putin 63% with 22% of votes counted. The state-run VTsIOM polling agency said its exit polls predicted that Putin would take 58.3% of the vote.
But as with the December vote, independent election monitors and opposition activists presented evidence of widespread falsifications, including ballot stuffing and "carousel voting" – packing vans with voters and bussing them to several polling sites to cast numerous votes.
The Kremlin set up webcams in polling sites to combat fraud. One camera caught a man stuffing voting papers into a ballot box in Dagestan.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Yes the puti. uhgg, puti. He makes it sound so nice.
Tough guy...
He cries like Johnny Boehner.
You did notice that this story is Ten years old?
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