It is a mark of an insecure man that even though he could almost certainly win in a fair and square contest, Vladmir Putin feels it necessary to cheat. The Russian people are going to the polls today to put Putin back into the presidency. Reuters: Opponents said the voting was heavily skewed to help the former KGB spy return to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister and vowed to step up three months of protests against him. Some voters said they were forced to vote for him. But Putin's victory was not in doubt in voting from the Pacific coast to western borders with the European Union, and from the Arctic north to the frontier with China. The man credited by many Russians with rebuilding the country's strong image and overseeing an economic boom in his 2000-08 presidency hoped to win outright in the first round and portray this as a strong mandate for six more years in power. "I think the elections will be legitimate, fair, and Putin will win in the first round,...(Read Full Post)