By Andrew L. Jaffee

Russians spent 70 years under the thumb of communist apparatchiks, enjoyed a brief period of relative freedom, only to end up with another commissar/czar, Vladimir Putin. Today’s news out of the Motherland reminds me of the Soviet “elections” where communist party candidates always received 99% or greater of the “vote.” From the AP:

Russian workers told where, how to vote

With the Kremlin determined to see a high turnout in Sunday’s election, many Russians say they are being pressured to vote at work under the watchful eyes of their bosses or risk losing their jobs.

They say they also are being told to provide lists of relatives and friends who will vote for United Russia, the party of President Vladimir Putin.

United Russia is expected to win handily. But Putin has turned the parliamentary elections into a plebiscite on his rule, and the Kremlin appears to be pushing for nothing short of a landslide. …