Submission + - Ballot Stuffing in Russia (iht.com)
reporter writes: "According to an eye-opening report just published by the "Moscow Times" via the "International Herald Tribune", a senior election official in Russia has just leaked information, to the "Moscow Times", that the Kremlin has ordered state-supported organizations — clinics, universities, polling stations, and the like — to produce votes for United Russia, which is the party favored by Czar Vladimir Putin. "At Oryol State University, professors have told students to vote for United Russia or face dismissal, said a journalism student, who requested anonymity to avoid the risk of being expelled. He said the students had also been told to vote at an on-campus polling station, which is to be supervised by a teacher."
Yet, there is a silver lining. Like the United States, even Russia has people who volunteer to leak information when their conscience overwhelms them. Further, a few Russians have decided to defy the orders of the Kremlin and will vote against United Russia. Specifically, an employee of a Moscow food importer defiantly declared, "I'm going to vote because the boss can check, but I'm not casting a ballot for United Russia. I'm disgusted by this situation."
Here is an interesting question for the SlashDot crowd. Suppose that a similar situation occurred in the USA. For example, suppose that, under orders from Washington, the owners of SlashDot send an e-mail note to us users to order us to vote for Republican candidates in the Congressional elections. How would we respond?"
Yet, there is a silver lining. Like the United States, even Russia has people who volunteer to leak information when their conscience overwhelms them. Further, a few Russians have decided to defy the orders of the Kremlin and will vote against United Russia. Specifically, an employee of a Moscow food importer defiantly declared, "I'm going to vote because the boss can check, but I'm not casting a ballot for United Russia. I'm disgusted by this situation."
Here is an interesting question for the SlashDot crowd. Suppose that a similar situation occurred in the USA. For example, suppose that, under orders from Washington, the owners of SlashDot send an e-mail note to us users to order us to vote for Republican candidates in the Congressional elections. How would we respond?"
