The following quotes are regarding Sunday’s election in Russia, in which President Vladimir Putin’s party won 70 percent of the seats in the new legislature. The victory paves the way for Putin to remain Russia’s de facto leader even after he leaves office next spring. European election monitors say the election was unfair.
“Today everything is clear and stable in life. The president’s words always coincide with what he does. As for the other candidates we don’t know yet where they would take us to.”
Raisa Tretyakova, a 61-year-old pensioner in St. Petersburg.
“We live in a country with an absence of democracy and freedom of speech.”
Yelena, a 32-year-old manager in St. Petersburg, Russia, who refused to give her last name out of fear of official retaliation for voting for the liberal Yabloko party.
