Mr. Putin is sure to win the 2018 Russian presidential election
US President Trump attracted attention again when he boarded the plane alone, holding an umbrella, while his wife Melania and son followed behind in the rain.
Mr. Putin will win "knock-out" in the Russian presidential election
The results of a public opinion survey recently announced by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) show that if the Russian presidential election were held next Sunday, President Putin would win an absolute victory with 81.1% of the vote.
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| Public opinion polls show that incumbent President Putin is certain to win the 2018 presidential election. Photo: RT |
The candidate of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Pavel Grudinin, received 7.6% of the votes. Meanwhile, the representative of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, received 4.2%. Some other presidential candidates received less than 1% of the votes.
A survey conducted last week showed that 67% of Russians questioned said they would vote in the presidential election. 15% were still undecided and only 3% said they would not vote.
However, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party expressed disagreement with the poll results, saying that opinion polls conducted by the parties themselves are more reliable.
In particular, a telephone survey conducted by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation showed that 10% of Russians asked said they would vote for the party's candidate, Mr. Pavel Grudinin, who is running for President for the first time.
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia has even more confidence in its representative, although Vladimir Zhirinovsky has run for the Kremlin five times, but has never received more than 10% of the vote.
The Russian Central Election Commission has received more than 60 applications to run for president. On December 27, President Vladimir Putin personally submitted his re-election application.
At his 2017 annual press conference on December 14, President Putin said he would run for re-election as an independent candidate, not on a party list, but he hoped to gain support from parties and the general public.
Elections will spark an explosion in Russia-Ukraine tensions
On December 18, the Russian presidential election campaign officially began. Previously, the Federation Council (Upper House) of Russia approved the presidential election date of March 18, 2018 - coinciding with the time of Crimea's annexation to Russia in 2014.
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| The Russian presidential election will take place on March 18, 2018. Photo: RT |
Russian media quoted diplomatic sources as warning that a storm would arise, and that anti-Russian groups in Ukraine would even take strong action on this occasion. Diplomatic sources were not sure that Russia would open ballot boxes in Ukraine for security reasons.
Russia's Central Election Commission has advised its citizens in Ukraine to return home before the election, saying "no one can guarantee the security of Russian citizens".
These concerns and warnings are not superfluous as the State Duma (Russian Lower House) election in September 2016 witnessed strong opposition and violent protests in Ukraine.
Ukrainian police at the time struggled to control protesters who tried to prevent Russian diplomats and citizens in Ukraine from voting.
The Ukrainian government has sent a note to Russia, affirming that it is impossible to hold State Duma elections in Crimea.
In response, Russia stated, “Crimea is an inseparable part of Russia, and the decision to hold elections there is the prerogative of the Russian Federation. Kiev’s decision violates the norms of etiquette and the principles of civilized communication between peoples. Ukraine is deliberately straining bilateral relations.”
Diplomatic relations between Russia and Ukraine have been strained since 2014 when Crimea was annexed by Russia and Kiev accused Moscow of involvement in the conflict in the east of its neighbor.
This has led to an escalating confrontation between Russia and the US and the West. Since the annexation of Crimea, the US and the European Union (EU) have maintained harsh economic sanctions targeting key sectors of Russia.
Moscow also retaliated with agricultural and energy sanctions against the EU and the US. However, these reciprocal sanctions are a double-edged sword that has caused serious consequences for both Russia and the Western powers./.
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