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Russia's Voters Head to Polls Following Summer of Political Turmoil

Charles Maynes

   MOSCOW - Russians braced for key local elections in Moscow and St.
   Petersburg Sunday -- as the exclusion of opposition candidates and
   imprisonment of anti-government demonstrators cast doubt on the
   legitimacy of races that analysts say Kremlin-backed candidates still
   risk losing.

   Indeed, with polls showing widespread discontent with President
   Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party, the limited scope of
   Russia's election season was set early on.

   Russia's Election Commission barred opposition-oriented candidates
   nearly en masse in July, citing candidates' failure to clear voter
   signature requirements to participate in elections.

   The result: a series of rolling weekend protests in both cities that
   saw more than 2,500 arrests, many at the hands of truncheon-wielding
   police and aggressive OMON security forces.

   "The aggressive response suggests authorities understand it's not just
   about the Moscow Duma," said Alexander Baunov of the Moscow Carnegie
   Center. "It's about reshaping the future of power in Russia."

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