Did Putin's Political Party Play With the Polling Results Produced?

There certainly seems to be a bit of turbulence surrounding Putin's election in Russia and the so-called 50% claimed by his party. There has been a bundle of news coverage over all the protests concerning this, as well as how fast the protests were put down directly following the election with military police number 10,000 coming in with overwhelming force to put down the discontent. There are many claims now of "voting irregularities" a buzz-word of course for fraudulent elections.

Okay so, what's the deal here, Putin says there is nothing to it, and that it is actually the US causing the protests (cite: Wall Street Journal article; 12-9-11 "Putin Blames US for Protests - Under Fire, Premier Takes Jabs at Clinton in Sharp Escalation to Rhetoric, Gets Tougher on Opposition," by Alan Cullison). Maybe, it's just me, but what on Earth does the US have to do with fraudulent elections in Russia - answer me that one? Additionally, I ask what's the real deal here, is it really true; did Putin's Party play with the election polling?

Not long ago, I was discussing this with someone living in Moscow, and I asked "so, tell me first hand, what's happening with political protests over the election? Is there anything really to that? Was there really questionable election ballot counting, aka "cheating" or is the nation just somewhat divided over how to move forward?" You see, the reason I ask is because the news we get here from CNN seems jaded, as is the Russian news station that plays stuff for the US audience with a Russian spin and motif.

Nevertheless, even Gorbachev even stated that the election was stolen from the Russian People, which seems a rather dangerous thing for him to say in public, so I doubt he would have made that claim unless he had some first-hand knowledge to it all? Interestingly enough, those who speak out against the election, bloggers in Russia for instance have found their websites hacked down, but Putin supporters. I suppose this is getting more common these days around the world with staunch political supporters lacking ethical checks.

Yes, elections are something that are serious in today's world, more and more so. Some are predicting an Arab Spring type uprising in Moscow over all this, but I doubt any of the old timers want to see the chaos they lived through before, even if the new generation is willing to put up a fight, perhaps even put their lives on the line as has been done in the Middle East and North Africa recently. In fact, an article in Bloomberg News on December 12 asked that question; "Is the Arab Spring Headed to Moscow?"

So far both the overwhelming government force, and the protestors are chilling out, not wishing to escalate anymore conflict - well, that's the current set of events currently, but these things often have a life of their own, so we shall see? Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net