There's an interesting piece on the Sochi election over at the Power Vertical blog.

Leaving aside for a moment what the election means for Solidarity, there are conclusions to be drawn from the Kremlin's point of view. First, the victory-producing machine is in perfect working order, with local officials, police, Kremlin-friendly activists and thugs, the courts, the media, the local election commission, and the Central Election Commission all working like gears in a well-engineered machine in a way that is as impressive as it is frightening.

 

That machine took a faceless bureaucrat who refused to campaign and produced a figure of 77 percent support that will no doubt withstand scrutiny all the way up through the Russian Supreme Court (what happens in Strasbourg is less certain, although it's a safe bet only our children or grandchildren will be around to find out).

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TODAY: United candidate on course to win yesterday's Sochi vote; dirty tricks rumors abound in election analysis; 'fast start' on US nuclear arms deal; military spy chief dismissed; Alexei Kudrin receives US court subpoenaThe Washington Post reports that acting Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov has won the Sochi election with more than 76% of the vote.  The Moscow Times does not declare a winner, but looks at exit poll predictions of a United victory and examines turnout, saying attendance reached 39%.  'These aren't real elections', Communist Party candidate Yuri Dzaganiya has told the Guardian.   'The secret services are completely involved in this election', says Boris Nemstov, according to the BBC.  The Washington Post reports on a documentary denouncing Nemtsov broadcast in the run up to ...

Some of the most entertaining news coming out of Russia these days has to do with the mayoral election in Sochi - a job which could land one lucky competitor the task of doling out billions of dollars in preparation for the Winter Olympics.  Without a hint of irony, President Dmitry Medvedev has called the campaign a "genuine political battle" that will enrich Russian democracy ... you can't make this stuff up.Needless to say, the country's most impressive corruption entrepreneurs have turned out to try to seize the post, but those placing their bets on the wanted murderer of Alexander Litvinenko, may be disappointed to see he's been chucked out.  And now it seems that opposition leader Boris Nemtsov's already slim chances are getting slimmer, as the United ...