Russians expected to give Putin the mandate he wants

Leader seeking a fourth term in voting today

Moscow — Russians are expected to hand Vladimir Putin an easy victory in today’s presidential election, keeping him in power until 2024.

Putin, 65, already Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin after more than 18 years in office, is seeking a fourth term during an escalating stand-off with the West and economic malaise.

With little opposition tolerated and widespread apathy about the outcome as living conditions stagnate, the Kremlin’s main task is to ensure that voter turnout for today’s election is large enough to give Putin’s new term a stamp of legitimacy. Officials mounted a major drive ahead of the vote to get citizens to show up at polling places, offering inducements ranging from free food to prize contests.

Putin attended few election events and, as in previous contests, dodged televised debates with his opponents. State broadcasters lavished coverage on presidential visits to Russia’s regions, giving scant attention to his rivals.

They include Communist Pavel Grudinin, a farm boss who has defended Stalin’s bloody purges; ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who’s been trounced in past contests; and Boris Titov, who attracted ridicule for running against Putin while serving as the Kremlin’s business ombudsman.

There’s also former reality-TV star Ksenia Sobchak, who’s run a campaign critical of Putin while laboring under accusations from opposition leader Alexey Navalny that the Kremlin encouraged her candidacy to add sparkle to the lackluster contest. Navalny was barred from running.

With little doubt about the outcome, the Kremlin Friday announced that Putin already had ordered his staff to draft policy decrees covering the next term.