Row with West overshadows Russia's election start
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An increasingly bitter dispute between  Moscow and the West over democracy overshadowed the official  start on Saturday of the campaign for Russia's March 2  presidential election.
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Russians voted Sunday in regional ballots marred by complaints that Kremlin opponents are increasingly sidelined ahead of national parliamentary elections in December and a vote to replace President Vladimir Putin next year.
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The United States and Russia clashed yesterday at a European security forum over the crisis of Ukraine&#39;s disputed election, elevating
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When Vladimir Putin used illegal tactics to engineer the election of his hand-picked subordinate Ahmad Kadyrov as president of Chechnya last October, Western pundits were quick to condemn the election as a farce.
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Ukraine's pro-Western challenger alleged fraud and called for mass protests after preliminary results put the pro-Russia prime minister ahead in the presidential runoff despite exit polls showing an opposition win.
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In the wake of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko&#39;s apparent victory, Moscow has been wary of Ukraine&#39;s perceived drift towards the West, and the Kremlin recently
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MOSCOW AP) Â Dmitry Medvedev, the presumed next president of Russia, on Thursday fended off concerns that the March 2 election would come under criticism from the West.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of using "double standards" in elections.
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Russia must decide if it wants positive relations with the West, a Downing Street spokesman said Monday after President Vladimir Putin warned of a new Cold War-style arms race.
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Tension was high in Ukraine Saturday as the nation prepared to vote for a new president in an election that pits West against East.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of applying "double standards" in democratic elections, including Ukraine's presidential poll.
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Chechens began voting Sunday for a new president, but few expect peace to follow from a Kremlin-sponsored contest overshadowed by fighting and twin plane crashes some have linked to rebels in the region.
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The second round of historical state ministry elections between two candidates from &#39;Russian&#39; and &#39;Western&#39; camps are being held today.
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Shifting alliances raise tension with Moscow.
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Ukraine faced political turmoil on Monday  as partial results in a presidential election put the prime  minister backed by Russia in the lead, while his liberal  challenger alleged cheating and called for street protests.
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ELEANOR HALL: To Russia now, where President Vladimir Putin&#39;s announcement this week of a radical overhaul of Russia&#39;s political system has sparked concern about the future of democracy in the country.
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KIEV, Dec 13 (IPS) - Most western analysts rejoice in what they describe  as the latest struggle for democracy in former Soviet territory,  but among the divided Ukrainian and Russian commentators the mood  is slightly different. Some ask why for the West democracy is  orange, and the blue votes do not count.