Thanks to kgb friends, the Russian Orthodox Church and a few bands of bus-riding zealots who voted at more than one polling station, strongman Vladimir Putin claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential election.
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has made no secret of his support for Putin, whom he regards as the guarantor of the country’s stability. “You have played an enormous personal role to set the course of history in our country,” Kirill told Putin last month during a meeting with other religious leaders. “I would like to thank you.”
