Russia goes to the polls

December 02, 2007

Putin is by far Russia's most popular politician after presiding over eight years of an economic boom. He aims to retain influence after stepping down as president in early 2008 and says a strong mandate from voters will give him that right. The predictable result has generated apathy among voters and sparked an official push to get the turnout up. Mobile phone companies have been sending text messages to subscribers telling them to vote and some state companies have ordered staff to cast ballots between work on Sunday (December02).