USA Today: These brave Russian candidates dare to run against President Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin, soaring in popularity as he boasts of the country's international power, is all but assured to win re-election in this month's vote.
The Kremlin already barred opposition leader Aleksei Navalny from this year's election, a move that gives Putin an added boost at the polls. Navalny called the election a farce in January He said, "It will feature only Putin and the candidates which he has personally selected.”
Yet people dare to run against Putin — some serious, some not.
One candidate is a journalist who named her campaign "No Fear" and has hurled accusations at Putin. Another candidate, a career politician, once ran a presidential platform that called for cheaper vodka for Russian men and better lingerie for Russian women. And a third candidate received death threats when he criticized Russia's aggressive foreign policy.
None of them garner more than 8% in Russian pre-election polling. Here's who is on the ballot:
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WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... not one of these candidates will come close to unseating Putin. And the only candidate who is a threat .... Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny .... is not even permitted to run.
