Russia votes for new parliament with Putin secure

Russians began voting in parliamentary polls, with parties loyal to President Vladimir Putin set to maintain their dominance despite the Kremlin making a show of cleaning up the vote after mass protests last time around.
The nationwide elections on yesterday follow several years of tumult that have seen the country annex Crimea from Ukraine, lurch into its worst stand-off with the West since the Cold War, plunge into economic crisis and launch a military campaign in Syria.
But Putin's ratings remain high at around 80 per cent and, with the Kremlin in tight control of the media and public discourse, authorities appear to be banking on a trouble-free vote paving the way for him to cruise to a fourth term as president at polls in 2018.

Despite the dramatic events that have rocked the country, the campaign for the State Duma -- widely seen as a rubber-stamp body that has slavishly toed the Kremlin line -- was dubbed the most boring in recent memory by observers and high levels of voter apathy suggest that turnout could be low.
Polling stations for the vote -- which also sees regional leaders elected in some areas -- opened in the most easternly region of Kamchatka at 2000 GMT yesterday and will close in Russia's European exclave Kaliningrad at 1800 GMT today.
For the first time residents on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea are among the roughly 110 million voters eligible to cast their ballots for the 450-seat Duma, stirring fury from Ukraine.

"I call on you to come to polling stations, to vote, to express your position," Putin said in a final appeal to voters last week.

"Make your choice, vote for Russia."
Yesterday, he endorsed ruling party United Russia despite campaigning being banned on the day before the vote.
"I created United Russia as a party, so there is no commentary needed here," he said when asked by journalists who he is going to vote for.
United Russia looks set to scoop the largest chunk of the vote ahead of others loyal to the Kremlin like the Communists and the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party.