New Delhi (Sputnik) — Last week, voters in Russia went to the polls to elect their president. Indian scholar Dr. Ashok Gajanan Modak was there to observe the poll preparations and the voting process. After returning to India, he shared his experiences with Sputnik.
"It was a day of extreme weather but people came out in large numbers to cast their votes. It was a sort of celebration. I visited polling booths outside the Moscow city and found the whole experience praiseworthy," Dr. Ashok Gajanan Modak, Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai told Sputnik.
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Professor Modak was in Russia as a poll observer at the invitation of the Duma.
"I have lived in Russia for few years during the communist days and have seen elections during those days very closely. I must say there is a stark difference and people are much more confident and participatory now. There were many opposition candidates and people voted out of great enthusiasm," he added.
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Upon being asked about his general impression about the mood of the voters before the polls, Professor Modak opined that Russians had a strong reason to elect Vladimir Putin back to power.
"In the last 27 years, Russians have regained their confidence and they generally feel they are living in better times than before and hence the results were not surprising," Professor Modak told Sputnik.
The views and opinions expressed by Dr. Ashok Gajanan Modak in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.